Overlord Volume 16 Betrayal
by Lighnovelfan
Summary: This is the continuation of my stories The Last Wolf and Long Live The Queen. The Re-Estize Kingdom is now under the Sorcerer Kings' control. Follow how different parties deal with the sudden changes and experience several heartbreaking betrayals and conspiracies. Especially the members of Blue Rose will experience many hardships. They meet an old friend are asked for a favor. That
1. Prologue

The eight floor of Nazarick was covered in nothing but wilderness. It was made up of rocky plains and valleys, devoid of any vegetation. All its' inhabitants are very powerful, even for Nazaricks' standards. As the final line of defense before the residual area and the throne room, this was only natural. Victim and several high ranking NPC guarded this place, but the others were also very strong. Even a group of level 100 Players would have a hard time surviving here. In a sense, this floor represented Nazaricks' strongest fighting force. Most of the guardians were not allowed to set foot onto this floor. There were only two exceptions. The first one was Victim, the guardian of this floor. The second one, in her role as guardian overseer, was Albedo. Right now she was making use of her privileges and walked along a narrow canyon. At the end of that canyon was her destination. A deep and dark cave. It wouldn't be right to call the cave her goal, more the resident of that cave. The pitch-black darkness inside was no problem for her, thanks to her dark-vision. She had to walk carefully, as the ground was covered in the remains of many creatures. Broken and shattered bones with bite marks on them, blood stains and the smell of spilled innards were very prominent. Most of the remains were in a state that made it impossible to tell which species they were from, but the skulls were clean and orderly lined up next to the walls. They belonged mostly to humans, but also to several demi-humans and other creatures. Albedo could hear chewing sounds from further down the cave. She wore her usual gentle smile as she approached the origin of that sounds.

"Hello sister, it has been a long time."

In the dark two blood red, glowing dots appeared, looking at the newcomer. A line of shining white, razor sharp teeth formed a scary smile.

"I have come to ask you for a favor."

She pulled out a piece of paper that looked like it had been ripped out of a book.

"Very soon we will have to take action against a foolish enemy that tried to defy our lord. When that time comes we will probably see this thing. If you happen to come across this object, I want you to secretly take it and bring it to me. Can I count on you, Rubedo-chan?"

Her hand reached out and took the piece of paper to look at it, then she smiled again, licking her lips like a hungry beast.

In the Slane Theocracy, there was no higher authority than the six cardinals, except for the gods themselves. The one responsible for managing the affairs of the scriptures, the Slane Theocracys' Special Forces, was Raymond Zarg Lauransan, the cardinal of earth. It was his duty to organize and dispatch the scriptures, as well as read their reports and later inform the other cardinals. At the moment, he was receiving one of these reports. A few weeks ago he sent a member of the Holocaust Scripture, the vice-captain Agurun to be precise, to the Elven Kingdom, to cause some damage to them, by burning down a couple of villages and maybe weaken their economy. Originally, this was supposed to be a punishment. During his last mission to kill some traitors to humanity, he showed great disrespect towards his captain. Therefore he was sent on such a dangerous mission alone, without back-up or artifacts. When he returned he reported some unexpected and delightful news. According to him, the king of the Elven Kingdom recently committed suicide and left the throne to his underage daughter. She and her aides decided to reconcile with the Slane Theacracy and make peace with them. As it was almost too good to be true, Raymond wanted to doubt the vice-captains words, but the thing he held in his hand proved him otherwise. Just this morning he received a message, decorated with the royal crest of the Elven Kingdom, asking for a cease-fire and peace negotiations. After he said everything he had to say, Agurun kneeled in silence before the cardinal.

"Is there anything else you wish to say?"

"No, your eminence."

"Then you are free to go."

After he left, Raymond, seemingly alone said

"What do you think of this?"

A figure emerged from the shadow, The captain of the black scripture had been listening all the time.

"That's a highly suspicious development. The king is not somebody that would commit suicide. He is way too big of a narcissist for that."

"I think so, too. There is no low probability that his servants killed him and placed a child they could freely manipulate on the throne."

"Can we really blame them? They tolerated that bastard for a long time. They were probably sick of him. The question is, how should we react now that the main reason for the war is gone?"

"Do we have much of a choice? With the development in the kingdom, there is only one way."

"Accepting their peace-offer after what happened might cause an uproar in the population. We have been at war with them for more than two generations. The hatred is very deep-rooted."

"You are right, but the alternative is much more frightening. If we don't end this conflict now, we will be surrounded by enemies on all sides. We have much bigger problems."

"You are talking about the Sorcerer King."

Raymond nodded.

"As much as I hate to admit it, the way he planned all this is masterful. I can't help but admire him for his efficiency and resourcefulness. Like pieces on a chessboard he brought everything in position and is now making his moves. He takes one country after the other, with frightening speed and surprisingly low casualties. First, he pretended to ally himself with the empire to found his own country, only to force them into submission a couple of months later. Then he employed the services of the Dwarven Kingdom. When the Holy Kingdom was plagued by a demon, he seized the opportunity and deeply indebted them. Now the Kingdom tried to invade his territory and got conquered in return. Almost like he put his bony fingers around our necks and is about to close his fist to crush us."

"So you are saying we have to end the fights on at least one border?"

"For now. We have to focus our efforts on this undead."

"I am only worried how Zesshi will react. She was almost obsessed with fighting him."

"It is very hard to predict her reactions. She could be furious, delighted or indifferent. In all those years I now know her, I have only learned one thing. She is unpredictable."

Silently, Agurun returned to his scriptures' quarters, where he would meet up with his companions. The ones that were killed by the Witcher were already resurrected and currently training to regain their full strength. For the next couple of days, they wondered why he has recently calmed down and was somewhat more respectful, but ultimately they wrote it of as him having learned his lesson after being scolded by the captain and cardinal Raymond.

On the other side of the now conquered kingdom of Re-Estize, in the Argiand Council state, the recent developments caused as much concerns as In the theocracy. Even before the kingdom was annexed by the Sorcerer King, the dragon lords had been feverishly debating, but now it rose to a different level. At first the dragons were shocked when they heard that the kingdom was conquered and they now shared a border with such a dangerous nation. Their assumption that the Sorcerer King was still alive proofed to be right. The speed at which he swallowed his surrounding nations was unsettling and they were pressed to agree on a way to deal with this situation. For the first time in a really long time they couldn't afford to take things slowly. Dragons, who had a limitless lifespan, tended to perceive time differently than others. They thought that an undead, who also had an eternal life, would be similarly slow in his actions, but they were wrong. Not only exceeded his speed their expectations, it was also increasing. Right now the council was divided in two groups. The ones that wanted to deal with the Sorcerer King militarily, the aggressive faction with Tsaindoruks, Saessenthesis and Vilentretenmert one the ones ide. The other side, the peaceful faction, contained Horaki, Fasreal and Taran. Riolt was still acting as a mediator between these two groups. They have debated for almost five days, without breaks in between. Because everyone got increasingly unproductive, Riolt decided ta stop for the day and continue once everyone had a chance to calm down. After leaving the high chamber, Horaki, the Emerald Dragon Lord, ordered one of his servants to come to his chamber. Towering over the kneeling servant, Horakis' presence alone seemed to crush the small person like an ant. In reality, being an Orc made him slightly bigger than an average human. It was Horaki who was simply so much bigger, With a stern and demanding tone hes aid.

"Repeat it once again. I can't afford you mess it up because of your bad memory. What are you supposed to say when you are asked by someone who serves the other members of the council?"

"Because I was worried what happened to some distant relatives when Jaldaboath run havoc in the holy kingdom, I am on my way to make sure they are save. Because the Sorcerer Kingdom is known to be neutral towards Demi-humans, I chose that route to go there."

"And what are you supposed to do, once you are in the Sorcerer Kingdom?"

"Make contact with someone in contact with the Sorcerer King, so I can request an audience with him."

"What are you supposed to say?"

"That your excellence, the sublime Emerald Dragon Lord, Horaki Folter, wishes to have a secret conversation with him."

"Good. I don't have to remind you what is at stake, do I?"

"No."

"Then go. Make haste, I don't know for how much more time I can stall. I can feel them getting annoyed with this."

The Orc left the room in a hurry.

(Good. With a messenger on the way, it is only a matter of time. I have to delay the decision for as long as possible. If we reach a conclusion before I was able to meet with the Sorcerer King, my whole plan will crumble. The question is, how can I convince him? He should already know about our secret hiding place. Fortunately, I know a lot of other secrets.)


	2. Chapter 1 Family Bonds Part 1

Even though it had been only one week since he came to Carne Village, Geralt felt like he had made more progress than in the ten years prior, since that fateful day he decided to become a Witcher, When the Sorcerer King told him about a genius alchemist in that village, he was curious about him. He turned out to be as good as Geralt imagined, Nfirea was capable enough to recognize the compounds in the mutagen and the several Witcher potions. Together they were able to further refine the solutions. When they were done, Geralt steeled his resolve and choseto test it on himself, Whether because of ten years passing or his bad memory, the mutation hurt a lot more than Geralt remembered. But the results were clearly worth it. He felt stronger than ever before. He was only able to test a couple of small things, but from what he could tell, all of his abilities seemed to have improved. Even his prior mediocre night vision was now on a different scale. In fact, all of his senses have become sharper, so much so, that it gave him a headache and little bit of dizziness. It would take him a while to get used to them. Originally, he wanted to leave the village right after he regained consciousness, but the residents convinced him to rest for the night. Nfirea wasn't that persuasive, but his wife was a lot more stubborn. He couldn't help but chuckle as she scolded her husband for his carelessness. Now he was returning to Kaer Morhen, but first he wanted to stop in E-Rantel. His first reason was to talk to the guild master of the adventurer guild. He wanted to inform him of the progress the adventurers made during their training in Kaer Morhen. His second reason was to look for some presents for Ziri and Triss, to apologize for his long absence. Geralt enjoyed the fresh air that was still moist from the heavy rain from last night. His horse was equally enthusiastic and carried him along quickly. But when they were hit by a gust of wind, they became very tense. The wind from E-Rantel carried a particular smell. Most people wouldn't be able to detect it, but Geralt could immediately tell its' origin. The slightly metallic smell could only be one thing. Blood. A lot of it. His horse neighed. Gerald patted its' neck.

"Easy, girl."

The horse puffed.

"I know, I noticed it, too."

He drove his horse faster and quickly arrived at E-Rantel. At first glance, everything seemed normal. Geralt could see the giants tending the statues, as normal. The Death Knights stood motionless on the walls and even the human guard didn't show unusual behavior. When he passed a long grass plain, he saw several red spots the rain couldn't wash away. A lot of blood had been spilled here, probably not more than three days ago. Slightly worried he approached the guard post. As usual, there was a long line before the gate. Geralt knew that newcomers had to go through the workshop, before they were granted entry to the city, so he waited patiently till it was his turn. He was greeted by the watchmen.

"Welcome. Is this your first visit here? What business do you have in E-Rantel?"

Geralt pulled out his passport from his pocket and showed it to the guard. After seeing the Sorcerer Kingdoms' crest on this official document, he immediately stepped aside.

"Sorry you had to wait. I hope your stay will be pleasant."

Before passing the gate, Geralt asked.

"Say, could you tell me what happened?"

"What do you mean?"

Geralt pointed at the plain he just came through.

"Seems like you haven't heard yet."

"I have been in the wilderness for almost a month and then to a remote village for a week and just returned."

The guard sighed.

"Well, two days ago the Kingdom launched an attack on this city."

"What?"

Bewildered Geralt raised his voice more than he intended to.

"Don't worry, there were no casualties. At least on our side."

Geralt blankly stared at him. The guard interpreted this as him being dissatisfied with the answer.

"Ahem... his majesty successfully defended the city. Once the invaders were defeated, he launched a counterattack on the kingdom. From what I've heard they surrendered and the former princess is now in charge of ruling the conquered territory on his majesty's' behalf."

Relieved Geralt answered.

"Thank you very much."

In truth, Geralt wasn't dissatisfied with the answer he was given. He was pleasantly surprised the guard referred to the Sorcerer Kingdom as 'our side'. He was glad the population was starting to accept the Sorcerer King as what he was, a benevolent and strong ruler. After entering the city, his first stop was the inn he was staying in. He tossed silver coin to the stable boy.

"Make sure she has some tasty hey and water."

The young boy nodded eagerly and took the horses rein. After making sure his trusted companion was in good hands, he slowly walked to his next goal. The adventurer guild was in the middle of a thorough reorganization. The newbies he was currently training would soon be dispatched into several poorly explored regions, to turn the unknown into the known, as the king liked to phrase it. The receptionist was a woman, maybe in her thirties. Geralt has only spoken to her once, when he first came here to discuss things with the guild master, Pluton Ainzach. After she told him to wait for a couple of minutes, she went to the secondfloor, where the offices were located. When she came down, she politely thanked him for his patience and said that the guild master could see him now. Geralt entered the office and was happily greeted by the old man.

"Geralt, nice to see you."

"Likewise. I am grateful you could make enough time to see me."

"Please, as if I could let a fellow guild master wait. So, tell me. What brings you to E-Rantel?"

"I just wanted to give you an update on how the training progresses, but I think we should talk about something else first."

"What do you mean?"

"When I traveled here, I noticed the smell of blood. Despite the heavy rain last night, it still lingers around."

Ainzach scratched the back of his head.

"I guess you talked to the guards. What else could I tell you?"

"You? Nothing. I wanted to tell you something."

Ainzach looked at him.

"I just wanted to tell you, it is not your fault. I heard from several people that you desperately tried to stop them and from the bags under your eyes I can tell you had a hard time sleeping. You did what you could. It's on them. They decided to ignore your advice."

"I still feel sorry for all those men."

"That's understandable. But you did your best to save them. Their deaths are not your fault."

After a minute of silence, Ainzach pressed out a faint

"Thank you."

"Back to the topic. The recruits are doing better than initially thought. I think most of them will complete their training by the end of next month."

"Really? That's hard to believe. I thought many of them would quit halfway and give up."

"They are very motivated. Plus, I think some of them are afraid of what I would do to them when they try to quit."

Ainzach laughed.

"That sounds plausible."

Geralt seemed a little bit hurt by that.

"You have to admit, at first glance you do look scary. You can't blame them for not knowing what a nice guy you can be. By the way, you do seem little bit different than last time. Did something happen?"

"You know what happened after my last stay here?"

"You were attacked by some elven soldiers and came back heavily wounded."

Yes. I made sure something like this won't happen again."

"I can see that. The last time, you gave of the impression of a very strong warrior, somebody that could rival even adamantite ranks. But this time, all my instincts tell me you would be an unbeatable opponent, even for a whole team of experts. Not quite on the level of Momon, but still better than before."

"I take that as a compliment."

Now Ainzachs eyes wandered over his armor.

"I see you replaced your equipment. A new armor?"

Geralt smiled and responded.

"No, actually a really old one."

The two guild masters chatted like this for another hour, before Geralt left his office. While strolling over the market, Geralt took his sweet time. He enjoyed not being the weirdest thing walking down the streets. Next to all that dwarfs, undead, demi-humans and heteremorphs, he looked almost normal. Before he met the Sorcerer King, he would sometimes wonder if it would have been easier if he hadn't decided to become a Witcher. All the scared and hateful stares he received left some deep scars. Unlike the scars on his body, the mutation couldn't erase them. But there were other things that could heal a hurt soul. Being accepted like this helped him a lot. The other thing was having people that truly cared for him. Although he only knew them for a short while, being around Ziri and Triss calmed his mind to a degree he would have never expected. They have spent only a couple of days together, but Geralt felt like they were part of his family. That was very rare for a Witcher. Not only were they mostly despised and ostracized from society, which made it hard to form bonds with others. They also worked in a profession that made their return uncertain. Many couldn't deal with waiting for loved ones, not knowing if and when they would come back. Therefore he had to make sure to treat them properly. He needed some presents to apologize for his sudden departure. While walking down the street that was lined up with stall after stall on each side, his eyes stopped at a small and rather inconspicuous stable. An elderly women was selling pieces of old clothing and some remnants of fabrics. Among those, he saw something that piqued his interest. A stuffed animal in the form of a bird. He picked it up and inspected it from all sides. It looked a bit worn out and was obviously well used.

"That belonged to my daughter. She really loved it when she was small. Would never go to sleep withoutit."

Geralt chuckled and smiled.

"How much?"

He asked.

"Five Copper."

Geralt paid. Until only three months ago he wouldn't have had the money to leisurely pay for such non-existential goods. Now he could afford to buy something nice just to make somebody happy.

(That's one down. Now all that is left is something for Triss.)

As this thought crossed his mind, he had a sudden realization. What was Triss for him? What does it mean for him to give her a gift? Geralt had some experience with women, mainly those he had paid for, but he never thought about an appropriate gift for one. In some way he felt a little bit helpless. He once heard that many men would give their women jewelry or flowers to show their affection, but would that make the air between them awkward? After all, it wasn't like they were a couple. Maybe something less meaningful. But all he could think of were things like food or alcohol, things he had experience with. Geralt spent a lot of time looking for nice things, when he suddenly felt a shiver running down his spine. He knew that feeling. Somebody was watching him. He continued for a while, observing a hooded figure tailing him from the corner of his eyes. He did his best to look as unsuspicious as possible, not going faster or slower than before. While he pretended to search the stalls for something, he was quietly looking for a good place to confront his pursuer. He found a narrow alley that looked appropriate. He leisurely entered it and immediately hid behind some crates, patiently waiting. Only a couple of seconds later, the hooded figure walked past the crates and was turning his head left and right, probably asking himself where he went. Geralt left his hiding spot, standing in the middle of the alley and blocking the way out.

"I don't know, who you are, but you better have a good reason for sneaking after me. You have one chance."

He slowly raised his hand to reach for his sword. He was interrupted by a somewhat familiar voice.

"Please wait. I don't want to harm you. I was just waiting for a good chance to approach you."

The voice belonged to a young woman. She turned around and lifted her hood, revealing her blond hair and blue eyes. For a second, Geralt seemed to have troubles remembering. The first time they met, her face looked significantly different. For an example, her hair used to cover half of her face. But then he recognized her. He relaxed and took his hand off his sword.

"Oh, it's you. Leinas, right? What are you doing in E-Rantel? I thought you returned to the Empire."

"I was on my way to Kaer Morhen. Then I have seen you here, so I wanted to talk to you."

"And you decided that stalking me was a good way of opening the conversation?"

"As I said, I was waiting for the right moment."

"Well, now is as good as any other time. What do you want?"

She pulled out a small leather bag, from the metallic sounds Geralt could guess it was filled with coins.

"More."

"Pardon?"

"I need more."

"I don't think I follow."

"That potion you gave me. I need more of it."

"The one to suppress your curse? Why? I gave you enough too last for a whole year and it has been just over three months. What happened to it?"

"I used all of it."

"What?"

Geralt spurted out in surprise.

"Are you crazy? I explicitly told you to use it sparsely. Haven´t I said you would have to wait for at least three weeks between using it? Using it without resting could have lethal side effects. Are you suicidal?"

"That's none of your business. Just give it to me and I'm gone."

"Absolutely not. I'm not going to give you the poison to kill yourself."

"Why are you such an asshole? Nobody is going to blame you. What I do is my choice and my alone."

"I don't care if somebody is going to blame me or not. I would know it."

Leinas threw a punch at him, but Geralt easily dodged it. Under tears she yelled at him.

"You have no idea what it's like. Not being able to walk down the street without people pointing at you and talking behind your back. Treating you like some kind of freak."

"Are you sure?"

Leinas didn't know how to respond.

"I know exactly what that feels like. So don't you dare accusing me of that."

"That's different."

"How so?"

"You had a choice in that matter. I don't even know what I did to deserve this. For the first time ever I feel like a normal person. Can't you understand this?"

Geralt exhaled deeply and answered.

"Yes, I do. But as much as I would like to help you, I don't want your death haunting my mind."

Angrily, Leinas yelled

"Fine."

She tossed the bag filled with coins at Geralt.

"That way | don't owe you anything."

She turned around and ran away. Now in a very bad mood, Geralt decided to cut his stay short and leave E-Rantel. After he got his horse back, he immediately left the city, heading north. As he was all alone on the road, he began talking to himself.

"I don't have to feel guilty. I did nothing wrong. She is an adult and makes her own choices. If she can't use the potion responsible, I am more than justified not to give her more."

His horse puffed.

"Be quiet. What do you know?"

It neighed.

"Yes, I know that she is desperate, but what was I supposed to do?"

Another neigh.

"You know what? I don't need your sarcasm. If you have nothing constructive to say, just shut up."

Geralt continued his ride for almost ten minutes, before he sighed.

"Fine. You win."

He turned around and rode back to E-Rantel at full speed. After passing the city, he turned west, towards the Baharuth Empire. After a short while he saw a familiar blonde haired rider in front of him. He called out for her.

"Leinas"

She turned around and nearly fell off her horse when she caught the abject he threw at her. It was the bag she angrily threw at his feet.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"A Witcher never takes payment up-front."

Both of them dismounted and Leinas stared at him in disbelief.

"Does that mean you have changed your mind?"

"No. My stance on the potion hasn't changed. I will not be responsible for that. However..."

He stopped Leinas before she could protest.

"I decided to come with you and help you get rid of your curse."

"How are you planning to do that?"

"You remember the way it can be transferred?"

"Of course. Find the one responsible and throw the curse in his face."

"Quite literally, yes."

"Do you think I haven't tried that? I went to everyone who could hold a grudge against me. Nobody seemed to be responsible."

"That's where I come into play. It is something personal and it might be good to let an outsider look at it from a different angle.

So I am coming with you and take a look at all possible suspects."

"So all my enemies?"

Geralt nodded.

"As well as friends and family members, former and current lovers. Even acquaintances come into question."

Without warning Leinas jumped at him and hugged him. Shedding tears of joy she thanked him wholeheartedly. After she let go of him and calmed down a little bit, she asked him.

"I don't know how I can repay you."

Geralt scratched his chin and said somewhat embarrassed.

"About that. I have a small personal problem you could help me with. I wasn't able to come up with an idea for a suitable present."

Leinas turned around and asked timidly.

"That present. !s it for... a girl?"

"Yes."

"I see."


	3. Chapter 1 Family Bonds Part 2

After Geralt caught up to Leinas, the two of them started their journey to the Baharuth Empire. The way there would take approximately two days, one if they really hurried. That in itself wasn't problematic. The thing that was uncertain, was how long it would take Geralt to find the culprit, if he was able to find him or her at all. Finding clues for something that happened over ten years ago was no easy task. If Geralt was unlucky, it could take him weeks or even months to solve this puzzle. Therefore, he was slightly worried. On the one hand, he couldn't abandon Leinas and he was glad he made the decision to help her with her troubles. On the other hand he was delaying his return to Ziri and Triss indefinitely. He didn't like letting them in the dark about his whereabouts. Geralt sighed as he realized that worrying wouldn't solve his problems. He therefore decided to focus on the task at hand.

He mentally recalled everything he ever learned about curses and repeatedly asked Leinas about her family circumstances. He noted everything that could be useful during their investigation. She was the first-born daughter of a noble house that barely escaped the emperors' purges when he became the ruler. Greatly stripped of power, an arranged marriage between her and the heir of a family in a similar position was proposed. When the curse distorted her face, the engagement was canceled. This information greatly increased the number of suspects. Rivaling families added to the pool. Geralt was already annoyed, because he was sure he would have to deal with nobility and therefore people that thought they were better than others for no good reason. He would maintain a professional facade, but internally he was almost screaming.

Then Leinas told him about her bad experiences with priests and magic casters, who pretended to heal her just to scam her for money. Geralt could very well understand her rage and desperation. He couldn't blame her for almost killing herself with the potion. Her story was very tragic. After the first signs of the curse were discovered, here parents tried to cure her, but after a couple of fruitless efforts, they gave up on her. They paid less and less attention to her and focused more on her sister, who was born four years after her. She was quickly prepared as a replacement for her and Leinas was abandoned. From the way Leinas described her fathers' character, Geralt could imagine another motive. Maybe someone wanted to hurt him, by targeting his family. Revenge for past crimes was a possibility he couldn't ignore. Someone who would abandon his own daughter, just because he couldn't profit from her, was capable of many atrocities. If it hadn't been for her uncle, a friend of the family, she would have been doomed to wander the streets, homeless and destined to fend for her own. The only time the gloomy air around her seemed to brighten up was when she talked about her uncle. Apparently he was a righteous man that served in the military and was a friend of their parents since they were young. After she was kicked out of her home, he took her in and treated her like his own daughter. He raised her lovingly and taught her how to fight.

"Say"

She interrupted his train of thought.

"Why did you change your mind?"

"What makes you think I did?"

She looked at him confused.

"I said | wouldn't give you any more of that potion and | stand by that decision. The best way to do that, is to make it unnecessary."

They quickly reached the empires' border. The young borderguard tried to inspect them, but when his eyes met Geralts', he broke out in cold sweat and reflexively stepped back. Leinas showed him an official seal, handed out by the emperor only to trusted aides and allies.

"He belongs to me."

She said and pointed at Geralt. Once the guard post was out of sight, she said to Geralt.

"Lucky for us the guard didn't pass out. Are you deliberately trying to frighten everyone who sees you, or is it a natural talent?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

Geralt looked visibly hurt, but Leinas could tell it was more of an act and he was actually quite amused. After a while, the sun began to set. They decided to stop in a small village and continue the next day.

"Too bad there is no inn in this area. I managed to get us a place to sleep for the night, but we have to stay in the barn."

Leinas said. Geralt answered.

"That's no problem for me. Having a roof over my head is more than I have most of the times I travel."

They both led their horses to the barn and made preparations for the night.

"Here, have a drink. You must be really thirsty after the lang ride."

"Thank you very much."

Leinas answered.

"Oh, I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to Roach."

He pointedat his horse. His horse neighed.

"You are talking to your horse?"

"Yepp. She always gives the best advice."

"You are weird, you know that,right?"

"You should be glad I am."

Leinas smiled in response, but suddenly averted her face and turned around. Geralt dropped in the hay.

"Better go to sleep now, we have a hard day ahead of us."

Leinas nodded and also laid down. For a while she pretended to be asleep, until she was sure Geralt would be no longer awake. Making sure not to produce a single sound, she quietly sneaked out of the barn, into the forest behind the village. After getting some distance between herself and the village, she found a small pond,slightly too large to be called a puddle. She got down on her knees and inspected herself in the reflection. The time the potion has bought her was running out. The first signs of the horrible and grotesque appearance returning appeared on her face. She quickly reached in her pocket and pulled out a small bottle, easily fitting into the palm of her hand. It was originally filled to the brim with the poison-green liquid, but now only a few drops, barely enough to cover the bottom, were left. After emitting a deep sigh, she tried to open the bottle, but couldn't stop her hands from shaking. So much so that she dropped the bottle in the water. She desperately fished in the muddy pond and was relieved as she found what she was looking for. With her empty hand she forcefully grabbed her trembling wrist. She took a deep breath and opened the bottle, attempting to use the potion.

"I wouldn't do that."

The sudden and unexpected voice startled her enough to nearly drop the bottle again. Leinas turned around and saw Geralt leisurely leaning against a tree trunk.

"How did you find me?"

"Witcher senses, remember?"

"What do you want?"

"Well, when you sneaked out I was slightly worried. I followed you to make sure you wouldn't get into trouble."

"As you can see, I am fine."

"Really? Doesn't look like that to me. Those are some bad withdrawal symptoms you have. Comes from overusing the potion. The toxic components slowly accumulate and numb your nerves, making fine motor skills very difficult."

"It's none of your business."

"It sure is. I gave you the potion and are currently traveling with you. That makes it my business."

"You can stop belittling me. It is my decision what I do or don't do."

"It was your decision to crawl around in the mud, desperately looking for something to escape reality? Shaking and trembling like an invalid hoping to forget what is on their mind?"

Ashamed Leinas took a closer look at herself. She was indeed covered in dirt and wet from splashing in the pond. Geralt turned around and said.

"You are right. You are an adult and you can make your own decisions, but I just wanted to say one thing. I would really miss the strong and proud knight that dared to challenge me when we first met."

After returning to the barn, Geralt quickly fell asleep. In the early morning he was woken up by the horses. He opened his eyes and saw the back of Leinas as she was preparing her horse. She opened the door, whereupon the whole barn was filled with bright sunlight. Geralts' pupils immediately adjusted to the sudden influx of light. Leinas turned around and said.

"Are you finally awake? Hurry up and get ready. I want to be in Arwintar before it gets dark."

As Geralt looked in her face, he couldn't suppress a smile. She wore her hair like she used to, combed over the right side of her face.

"What's that stupid grin for?"

She asked, half angry, half embarrassed.

"Nothing. I just thought that it is a nice day. Perfect weather for traveling, don't you think so?"

"Yes."

Arwintar, the capital of the Baharuth Empire, was far more magnificent than anything Geralt had seen before. He wasn't that accustomed to big cities in the first place, but even compared to the capital of the Re-Estize Kingdom he visited a couple of months ago, it was clearly superior. For years the emperor tried to demonstrate the empires' superiority. Of course it would be unfair to compare it to E-Rantel, but Geralt was impressed nonetheless.

"Where do you think we should start? From what you told me thelist of potential suspects is quite long. Is there one you would put on the top of the fist?"

"I already told you that I tried everyone I can think of. There is no one I would consider more than others."

"In that case we should probably start with those closest to you and work our way through the list. The closer they are the more likely."

He was following Leinas through what looked like the district reserved for nobility and rich people. The alley connected several high-class mansions with each other. When Geralt looked around he could see many servants and maids walking around. Leinas drew closer to one particular mansion.

"We will start with my family. Hopefully mother can spare us a minute and will not be too occupied admiring her own appearance in the mirror. Father should be home,too."

Geralt could sense that Leinas was feeling very uncomfortable. Therefore he tried to cheer her up with a joke.

"Who would have thought that the day would come, when a girl would bring me along to meet her parents. Life is full of surprises."

"Quit saying nonsense."

"Sorry. Just thought you seemed very tense."

"Better explain what you need to do."

"First I would like to talk to every suspect. Sometimes my medallion responds when the target gets emotional."

"So provoke some emotional responses? Got that. What else?"

"It would be gate if I could take a look around the house. It's rare, but certain objects like mementos can still contain traces of magic. These could lead to the culprit."

Leinas looked troubled.

"I will try to make that possible."

They stopped before a big gate with two armored guards standing in front. When they drew closer, they crossed their halberds, blocking the entrance.

"Stop. What business do you have?"

The older looking guard said in a deep voice. Leinas stepped forward.

"My name is Leinas Rockbruise, daughter of Marquis Estel Nam Rockbruise. By the authority given to me by the Emperor of the Baharuth Empire, Jircniv Rune Farlord El Nix, I demand to speak to him. Inform him immediately."

The younger guard got slightly pale, but the older one simply nodded as to say "Go and do it." The younger one hurried away and went into the mansion. After a couple of minutes he returned and was followed by an elderly man wearing a butler uniform. The butler came closer and whispered something into the older guards' ear. Leinas couldn't hear it, but she noticed Geralts' stare getting a little bit harder. The younger guard took the horses' reins and the butler said.

"My master is pleased to welcome such honored guests, but he is currently occupied. He will be with you as soon as possible. In the meantime it will be my duty to entertain our dear guest. If you would please follow me? This young man here will take care of your mounts. He will make sure to treat them with utmost care."

Leinas and Geralt walked a couple of steps behind the butler. Leinas whispered, audible only for Geralt.

"Let me guess, he said something along the lines of We can't let this freak be seen around here."

"Did you hear him?"

"Didn't need to."

The two of them were led to a richly decorated and with expensive looking furniture filled room. There were paintings on the walls, a couch with a wooden couch table in front of it, several sideboards with vases on top of them and huge showcase with glass doors. Inside Geralt could see several bottles of expensive wines. After Geralt was done looking around, Leinas said.

"My father has a habit of displaying his wealth. He likes it when people admire him for that."

Geralt shrugged it off.

"I guess everyone needs a hobby."

The butler cleared his throat.

"My lord will be with you soon, until then, may I offer something to drink?"

Geralt said.

"No, I'm fine"

The butler seemed a little bit upset by Geralts´ rude response, but honestly speaking, Geralt couldn't care less if he wanted to. He wasn't here to entertain this nobles' needs for etiquette. He was here to work. The butler left the room and Geralt sat down, waiting patiently for Leinas' father to appear. After more than an hour passed, Geralt yawned, tired of boredom.

"Had I known in advance it would take this long, I would have taken the drink."

"He is doing this on purpose. I am sure he isn't busy, just waiting for the darkness so he can send us away when nobody can see."

"Guess we have to do something then."

Geralt stood up and walked towards the door.

"What are you doing?"

Geralt placed his finger over his lips, signaling for silence. He stood right next to the door-frame, grabbing the handle, motionless waiting for a couple of seconds. Then he forcefully pushed the door open. A loud smashing noise occurred, followed by the sound of something heavy falling to the ground. The butler sat on the floor, with a mark of the door handle on his forehead.

"Oh no, what a mishap. I am truly sorry for that, but I have waited for so long I needed to go to the bathroom. I am sure you can forgive me for that, right?"

Geralt wore a big fake grin and looked him deep in the eyes as he held his hand out to help the butler stand up.

"Accidents like this can happen. Please excuse me, I will go and see if the lord is now free."

The butler turned around, but was stopped in his tracks when Geralt said, in a voice much deeper than necessary.

"Wait."

The butler froze, then he looked back at Geralt.

"The bathroom?"

The old man pulled out a handkerchief and wiped away some drops of sweat.

"Ah, yes. Please excuse me. It's down this hallway, the second door to the right."

Then the butler left, more running than walking. Geralt smiled satisfied when Leinas asked him.

"Did you know he was there, watching us?"

"Maybe."

It didn't take long for the butler to return, following the lord of this house.

"I am truly sorry, but as the head of the Rockbruise house I have a very tight schedule. What gives me the honor of having such exquisite guests?"

When Geralt was sent to the kingdom, he received some training in noble etiquette from his host. That training and his natural instincts revealed to him the deep insincerity of his words. Leinas responded

"I am no there in an official matter. It is personal."

"Oh, what could it be about? I don't remember having a personal issue with one of the four knights."

Geralt could see Leinas clenching her fist, ready to explode. He grabbed her shoulder and stepped forward.

"We came here for an investigation. It is possible that someone around here has committed a horrible sin."

"Hmm, and whom do I have the pleasure with?"

"My name is Geralt. Your daughter has hired me to solve a problem of hers."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance. I am of Marquis Estel Nam Rockbruise. It seems like her ...condition causes her some troubles."

"Yes. That's why we wanted to have a talk."

"I don't know how I can be of help."

Annoyed he was met with such arrogant indifference, Geralt looked at the showcase.

"I couldn't help but notice your collection."

An arrogant chuckle escaped his lips.

"Marvelous, isn't it? It cost me a fortune."

"Kind of pointless, don't you think?"

"What?"

The marquis almost yelled.

"I mean, what good does a wine do if you don't drink it? Just standing there, accumulating dust it is not more special than a rock. Only that a rock costs a lot less and can at least be used for something useful, like throwing it at somebody that deserves it."

When he said these last words he stared at the Marquis.

"I don't like your tone. It is almost like you are implying I was at fault. Better be careful. Some could interpret that as an insult."

"I'm sorry. It was not my intention to imply anything. Let me be a little bit clearer. I think you are a despicable human being for abandoning your own child and you probably deserve every imaginable punishment for such a heinous act."

"That's enough. Who do you think you are talking to? I will not tolerate insults from such an insignificant cockroach. I will make sure you regret those words. Guards."

Several armed men rushed in the room. Geralt took a closer look at his medallion. Then looked at Leinas and shook his head. She sighed disappointed. The marquis bellowed some orders at his soldiers.

"Make sure they regret their Insolence."

The first one attempted to draw his sword, but was interrupted by Leinas punching him in the face. Then she grabbed him by his collar and threw him across the room, right into the showcase. All of the bottles of the Marquis prized collection were shattered and spilled their content over the floor.

"I don't mind going for a few rounds, but you should know that he..."

She pointed at Geralt.

"...stands in the Sorcerer Kings' service. I am sure the emperor wouldn't like to explain to him why one of his servants were met with such hostility."

All the guards stepped back. Of course they have heard the stories about the Sorcerer King, some of them had even been to the arena the day he fought the martial lord. Nobody wanted to get on that monsters bad side. Leinas vigorously left the room.

"Don't bother us. I still have to talk to my mother and sister."

Geralt carefully stepped over the unconscious guard and said to the butler.

"Don't mind us. We find the way out ourselves."

Next Leinas walked towards her mothers' room. When she opened the door, she was met with the usual scenery. A dressing table with a big mirror and countless bottles and pots filled with all kind of perfumes and make-up. The heavy cloud of different smells forced Geralt to pinch his nose as his eyes got teary. In front of the mirror sat a woman, wearing way too much make-up. Her face almost looked like she was wearing a mask.

"Hello mother."

Surprised the woman turned around.

"Oh my. Welcome, Leinas. I had no idea you would come to visit us."

"I came, because I have something important to talk about."

"Yes, I can see that. What have you done to your hair? Your beautiful silky hair should be kept in a better condition."

She came closer and started meddling with Leinas' head.

"Mother, please. Can you stop it for just a minute. It is really important."

Then her mothers' eyes fell on Geralt.

"And who could this handsome young man be?"

Geralt was startled by this womans' sudden approach.

"My name is Geralt, a friend of your daughter."

"Isn't that nice? I hope you will take good care of my daughter. She tends to be very impulsive and is very hot-tempered."

"Mother, please."

"Ooh, don't be like that. I just want to get to know your boyfriend better."

Leinas mother grabbed Geralts' arm and drew closer to him.

"Mother."

"Don't be jealous, I am just borrowing your boyfriend."

" . .BOYFRIEND."

Leinas now yelled. She took a deep breath. She looked at Geralt and asked.

"Anything?"

He shook his head in denial. Leinas immediately left and dragged Geralt along.

"If my daughter gives you a hard time, don't hesitate to come to me."

Leinas' mother winked at him. Once out of sight, Leinas said.

"I'm really sorry for that."

"There is nothing you have to apologize for, but there is definitely something weird about her."

"My mother loves being the center of attention. It has always been like this. Ever since I was a child she couldn't stand it when somebody paid more attention to me than to her."

"In any case, is there somebody else?"

"Only my younger sister. By now father should have told here I'm here. She is probably in the garden, drinking tea with her snobby friends. Let's go."

Before the left through the backdoor to enter the garden, Geralt said.

"You know, I'm surprised we can move so freely. I really thought we would face more resistance."

"From those low-class guards? Not a chance. Father spends too much money on nonsense, so he can't afford any high-class knights. These guys just wear fancy armor to appear intimidating, but that's it. They aren't paid enough to risk their lives in a real battle."

Then they entered the garden. Around a hundred feet away, Geralt saw a table, filled with several cups, teapots and plates with several sweets on them. Around the table sat four women, somewhere between child and adult. They all wore fancy dresses and big sunhats. One girl had black hair, long enough to reach to her waist. The other three had blonde hair. One with curly hair, one wearing twin-tails and the last ones were smooth and slightly shorter than the black haired girls. At first glance Geralt could see similar facial features between the last girl and Leinas. He could see her profile very clearly, so he was pretty sure that she must be said sister. As they came closer, she theatrically shivered and said, without so much as even looking at them.

"Brrr. Did you feel that, too? Feels like a ghost or something similar creepy just approached me."

The other girls giggled. Leinas answered with clear anger in her voice.

"Hello Marca. Lang time no seen. Good to see you are the same poisonous snake as always."

"My, my. Seems like you are as bitter as always. I'm surprised you even dare to show that face of yours in public. I would suggest you crawl back under whatever rock you came out of and don't further disgrace our family."

Then she noticed Geralt standing next to her.

"Who is that? Your lover? Nice thing you found somebody with such poor taste."

"Seriously, what is it with your family and their weird obsession with your love-life?"

He asked Leinas. Marca laughed snootily.

"Seems like he isn't aware. You see, my dear sister was once treated as the gem of our family. Always treated as something special. Father had high expectations in her and arranged a betrothal with the heir of a noble family we share deep connections with. But when he saw what an atrocity she has turned into, he ran away like he was chased by wild tigers. After that father kicked her out and it was my time to shine. After that nuisance was out of the way, father noticed my true value."

Marca laughed in a very evil manner. Leinas fumed in anger and wanted to slap her, but she was stopped in her tracks as she noticed Geralt turning around indifferently.

"I think you were right. She is just an immature brat and not worth our time. I'm sorry I didn't believe you. I truly thought the daughter of a noble house would be better educated than some hoodlums."

"What did you just call me, you worthless bastard? Just so you know, I enjoyed the best upbringing possible."

"See? That proves my point. I think you should learn from your sister and act calmly. By the way, I know a six-year old with better manners."

Marca stood up and chased after him, grabbing his arm.

"Don't you dare run away from me. I demand an apology for those insults."

Geralt turned around and looked deep into her eyes. Because Marca had been so focused on Leinas, she hadn't noticed his unusual eyes. Till now. Now she saw his yellow glowing eyes, the slit, cat-like pupils and the cold and merciless stare. She instinctively let go of him and stepped back. In return, Geralt took a step towards her, forcing her further back. Now her friends also noticed his unusual appearance. The previously giggling girls became dead silent.

"Just some well-meant advice. Never, and I cannot emphasize that enough, NEVER try and grab a Witcher from behind again. I am mostly a calm and composed person. Had it been not for the special circumstances, you would have lost your arm by now."

He took another step forward. Marca wanted to step back, but tripped over her long dress. Now, sitting on the ground she looked up to Geralt. From this angle he looked all the more intimidating. Her face was ghostly pale. The other girls tried to hide behind the table, cowered together and shivering.

"Wh-who do you think you are? Have you any idea what threatening a noble means?"

"Now that you mention it, I have never thought about it. Ever since the Sorcerer King appointed me my title and territory, I haven´t bothered thinking about it."

Leinas interrupted.

"Wait, so you are a noble of the Sorcerer Kingdom?"

"I guess, technically you could say that."

"Why haven´t you said anything about that?"

"Is it really that big of a deal?"

Leinas pressed the palm of her hand against her forehead.

"With your own territory and title as a servant of the Sorcerer Kingdom, you are roughly on equal footing with the emperor."

"Is that so?"

Geralt didn´t seem that impressed.

Leinas put her hand on his shoulder and said.

"We go, now."

After Geralt nodded, he threw one last stare at Marca.

"You should be glad your big sister protected you. The next time you might not be as lucky."

After a certain smell reached his nose, Geralt left satisfied. During their way back, Leinas said.

"Thank you for stopping me before I did something stupid, but you didn't have to go that far."

In a rather pleasant tone Geralt responded.

"I actually quite enjoyed it. I avoided nobles so far, but it seems like intimidating them to the point they wet themselves is quite funny. I just have to make sure it doesn't become a habit."

After Geralt and Leinas left the mansion and got their horses back, she almost dropped to her knees in exhaustion. Geralt cleared his throat.

"Ahem. Your family is truly...special."

"You don't have to sugarcoat it. They are a bunch of assholes."

"I didn't want to be so blunt since they are your family, but I have to agree."

"So, did you figure something out?"

"None of them caused a reaction from my medallion."

"But you said that they sometimes don't show signs. Is it possible that that is the case?"

"Of course it is possible, but I don't think they are guilty."

"Why?"

"Your father seems to despise you, but only because the curse disturbed his plans. So his disdain was caused by the curse. That's the wrong order. We are looking for somebody, whose hatred may have caused the curse."

Leinas nodded in agreement.

"Then there is your mother. Either she is the best actress I have ever seen, or she is a truly an airhead and a superficial person. I don't think her will would be strong enough to focus into a curse."

"What about my sister?"

"I freely admit that she being the culprit is more likely. She seemed to be very jealous of you when you were children and even now shows sever contempt towards you."

"So, why do you rule her out?"

"By the time you were cursed she would have been six or seven years old. I don't think such a young child would be capable of such deep hatred. I will keep her in mind, but I don't think she is the one we are looking for."

"Seems like we have to keep looking. I made list of all the people I could think of."

Geralt looked at the horizon. It started to turn red.

"This took a lot longer than I imagined. Maybe we should call it a day and continue tomorrow."

"I think you are right."

"Do you know a place around here I could stay at?"

"My uncles´ house isn't far from here."

"That man that raised you when your parents kicked you out?"

"Yes. If it wasn't for him I would be dead by now."

Geralt thought for a moment.

"That seems like a good idea. I wanted to talk to him. Maybe he can think of another person you might have missed."

"Good. This way."

Hello everyone, as always thanks for reading.

P.S.: Only two more weeks till release of Vol. 14. I can barely wait.


	4. Chapter 1 Family Bonds Part 3

Three days after the invasion of the Sorcerer Kingdom failed and the Re-Estize Kingdom got annexed, the members of Blue Rose were still on their way to leave the country. They had been very careful not to attract unnecessary attention and tried to keep a low profile. While traveling through several villages, they learned that news had already reached them. Apparently incorporeal undead had appeared and informed everyone of what happened. Everyone who was able to had already left, mostly merchants, priests and other workers that were not bound to a specific place. Poor farming families on the other hand couldn´t afford to leave their farms behind. Gambling on the goodwill of strangers in a place they would flee to was not an option. That would be equal to a death sentence. Maybe young men, capable of physical labor could get by, but the aging, young children and women wouldn't be able to survive. So they had no other choice but to risk believing the words the undead conveyed. Their message was that those who accepted the new rule would not face any hardships. At one time such a creature appeared as the team just entered the village and Lakyus had a hard time holding Gagaran back. But seeing that it didn't hurt anybody and simply left afterwards helped her very much. The route they took would prolong their journey for about four days, but using less frequented routes and therefore increasing their safety was worth the time. It was slowly getting dark and the female adventurers were preparing a camp for the night. Tia and Tina were scouting the vicinity, Gagaran went to get water from a nearby river and Lakyus and Evileye were watching over the campfire and preparing dinner. The mood was rather dark.

"What are we going to do?"

Asked Evileye.

"We will get up early tomorrow and head north."

"I mean after that. What are we going to do, once we are in the Council State? What are your plans for the future?"

"We will look for a safe way to contact Renner and coordinate for people to leave the country."

"And what about the Sorcerer King?"

Lakyus sighed.

"I am not sure there is much we can do. He is simply too powerful. He himself is enough to deal with a whole army. He controls hordes of legendary undead and who knows what else he kept hidden so far. Killing our army two times wasn't even enough for him to break a sweat. Then there is Jaldaboath."

She looked like she was remembering something bitter.

"He killed Tia and Gagaran without any effort and you weren't able to scratch him at all. His difficulty rating would be at least 200, but the Sorcerer King beat him nonetheless. That makes him even more dangerous."

"What do you want to say?"

"I don't think we would be able to do anything at all. We would need the help of much stronger individuals."

"Maybe if we could convince the Dragon Lords, we would stand a chance."

Said Evileye. Lakyus nodded in response.

"That's what I am hoping for. They should be wary of him, too."

"Then it's a good thing you have me."

The voice that belonged to neither Evileye, not Lakyus, startled them. When they looked around, their facial expressions immediately softened. The voice didn't belong to a stranger or a pursuer.

"Rigrit."

Lakyus exclaimed in surprise. The two roses warmly greeted their former companion.

"Good to see you two. It has been far too long, but I have been quite busy. But from what I heard you weren't lazing around either."

Lakyus responded.

"Yes, it was far too long. We have missed you. Where have you been all the time?"

"That's a really long story. How about we wait for the others and tell you in detail?"

"That's probably for the best."

And so they waited for the return of their sisters. They were all equally surprised to see their old friend, although Tia and Tina were a bit hurt she managed to slip by unnoticed. Over the meal they exchanged stories of what happened since they parted ways. Rigrit was especially curious about their encounter with the terrible demon.

"It seems like he is incredibly strong. I would say difficulty rating 200 is even a conservative estimation. With the support of his maids, I wouldn't be surprised if it were around 250. What disturbs me the most is that I have never heard of him before. Demons, as well as angels, have a very difficult relationship to their names. In order to manifest in this world, their names have to be known. In all my travels and years of research, I have never encountered this name. This means he is either come to this world very recently, or he came from very far away. That you lost against him wasn't your fault. That you managed to hold your ground against the maid was pretty impressive."

It seemed like none wanted to accept the praise.

"But Lakyus, it seems like your magic has gotten a lot better. Being able to use Raise Dead two times a day is a great feat. When we last saw each other you could only manage once."

"Thank you."

"Now, tell me about this Momon. He seems to be quite capable if he was able to drive Jaldaboath back."

Evileyes' mood improved immediately.

"Yes. He is incredible. A heroic knight in dark shimmering armor. You should have seen his formidable fight."

Rigrit had a huge grin on her face.

"Oho, Has spring come to a certain someone? Who would have thought you were able to talk with such a cute voice."

Evileye got angry, but Lakyus calmed her down.

"Don't let her tease you. You know how she is."

Rigrit stopped teasing her old friend and asked.

"So, where is this hero now?"

"The Sorcerer King is forcing him to serve him, holding the population of E-Rantel hostage."

"That's a horrible thing. But maybe we can count on his help."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I have to admit something. I didn't come here just because I missed you. I know for certain that the dragons are currently planning to make a move against him."

All stared wide-eyed at Rigrit.

"What?"

"Really?"

"About time."

Rigrit raised her hands, calming her friends down.

"It's not for certain, but they are debating over it. With the annexation of the kingdom, they now share a very long border. From what I have heard, they are sure to act soon."

"What can we do to help? I doubt we are able to contact Momon."

"No, that won't be necessary. If his character is like you described, he will join us on his own. But there is something you can do. I am reluctant to ask, because it can be very dangerous."

Lakyus looked at her teammates. All of them confirmed with a nod.

"You know we aren't scared of dangers. If there is something we can do to help, we will do it."

She smiled again.

"I knew I could count on you."

"So, what is it?"

"North-east from here is a small territory. The residents of that place are, unfortunately for us, allies of the Sorcerer King. There is a fortress and inside that fortress is something that could be crucial in fighting the Sorcerer King."

Gagaran asked

"What is it? A holy weapon or a magic tome?"

"No. A map."

"A map?"

Gagaran was confused.

"How can that help us fight that undead monster?"

Tia answered in Rigrits' place.

"Just think about it for a moment, or is your head just for decoration? The answer is simple. The map leads to a place where something powerful is hidden."

"Exactly."

Rigrit added.

"This map leads to something the Dragon Lords hid a very long time ago and we might be able to use it against the Sorcerer King."

"Wait a moment."

Evileye interrupted.

"You just said that they were allies of the Sorcerer Kingdom. What makes you think he hasn't already taken it?"

"That's unlikely. I know for sure that nothing happened in that place so far."

They all looked at each other and Tina asked.

"It seems like you already know where that is, so why do you need the map?"

"I have spoken to one of the Dragon Lords and he confirmed that it was still safe, but he wouldn't tell me the location, no matter how much I asked, he wouldn't budge. That's why we need to get the map."

"Why wouldn't he tell you?"

"It seems like all the Dragon Lords agreements is needed for that."

After Lakyus and Evileye exchanged some looks, Evileye said.

"If what you are saying is true, they desperately want to hide it. Do you think it is a good idea to look for it?"

"l am not sure. I am not even sure I want to look for it. But if worst were to come, it wouldn't hurt to have a trump card like that."

"Well, I guess it can't hurt to get the map, just in case. But what in the world could be so valuable?"

"It is best you know as little as possible. In case we really don't need it, I don't want to antagonize the Dragon Lords more than I already have. All I know is that it should be somewhere in the Azalea Mountain Range. It should be a big cave far north of the northernmost Dwarven City. The entrance should be sealed with magical barriers and massive stonewalls. If you can find a map or some other hints on where it could be, we could secure a powerful weapon."

"That sounds like a good plan, but why do you need us? You are more capable than the rest of us combined."

Sheepish, Rigrit scratched the back of her head.

"I have been there before and I have screwed it up. The Witcher found me before I could get what I wanted. I concealed my face, but I am sure he could recognize me."

"Witcher?"

Gagaran yelled.

"Yes. The place where the map is hidden is the Witcher fortress, Kaer Morhen."

Gagaran slammed her fist against the palm of her hand.

"That's a nice coincidence. I am eager to pay him back."

"From the way you are talking, I assume you already met?"

Lakyus answered.

"Yes. About two months ago he came to the Kingdom on behalf of the Sorcerer King. He and Gagaran had a little clash."

"And it didn't go well?"

Tina said.

"He actually mopped the floor with her."

"You don't have to be so blunt about it."

She angrily glared at her companion.

"You don't have to feel so down about it. I exchanged some blows with him, too. I can attest that he is a really capable warrior. But if you had such an encounter, I don't think it would be good for you to go there. He might still hold a grudge against you. Furthermore, after my visit, they drastically increased the safety measures. I will think of something else."

"Wait"

said Evileye.

"I don't think that will be necessary."

"I am grateful for your help, but it is far too dangerous. If he knows your faces, it will be hard for you to move."

"That's not the case."

"Why not?"

"First, he doesn't know we are friends. He will assume we came on our own accord. If necessary, we can pretend Gagaran wanted a rematch."

She cast a glance at her warrior friend.

"Not that that would be a lie. Second, we were invited."

Lakyus said.

"We were?"

Gagaran also asked in confusion.

"When did that happen?"

"After you lost against him, I followed to make sure he wasn't hurting someone. He noticed me and we had a little talk. In the end he invited me to look for myself, whether the Sorcerer Kingdom was such a horrible place."

Skeptic of this, Rigrit asked.

"And he invited you to Kaer Morhen?"

"He probably meant E-Rantel, but he didn't specify that."

"Hmm. If that is the case you might be able to thoroughly look for the map. I guess that is our best chance. But you have to be careful. I don't think he is a bad person, but he doesn't treat trespassers kindly."

Lakyus responded.

"We will keep that in mind."

"By the way."

Gagaran put her thick muscular arm around the small Evileye and seemed to almost crush her.

"How come he beat the shit out of me and you were invited to spend some time with him? Is there something you want to tell us?"

"Don´t be stupid. This was merely for publicity. He wanted to draw us to the Sorcerer Kings side, in order to prevent us from being an obstacle."

Lakyus said.

"That could give us a good opportunity. We could act like we are actually considering it. That might cause him to allow us to move more freely. We should play along for a couple of days and look for more information. We might find something else that could come in handy. And when he lowers his guard, we will search the fortress for clues."

Tia and Tina whispered something to each other. Then Tia pulled out a map from one of the bags in their cart.

"We just thought about something. Can you please show us where that place is?"

Rigrit pointed at a place on the map. Lakyus asked.

"What are you thinking about?"

"We might just be able to accomplish both our objectives there. This place is right next to the border of the Argland Council state, but at the same time far off from every other city or village. If we can manage to secure a stable route, we can continuously smuggle people out over this way."

"What do you mean?"

Rigrit was slightly confused.

"Renner asked us to leave the country in advance to help people escape the Sorcerer Kings´ clutches. We plan to bring them to the council state."

"Renner did that? Well, she was always a smart and kind kid. And now you use the route over Kaer Morhen?"

"We should at least take a look if it is possible."

Tina said then.

"Leave it to us. There are always smugglers this close to a national border. We will find someone."

Then Lakyus reminded her companions.

"We should avoid battle, if possible. With support of one or two of us, Gagaran should be able to deal with him, but he mentioned other adventurer apprentices being there. We have to expect at least a dozen other enemies. I don´t want this to end in a bloodbath."

Sorry, I´m a Little late this week. Hope you enjoy it nonetheless. BTW happy Volume 14 release-day


	5. Chapter 2 Revelation Part 1

After Geralt and Leinas left the estate of the Rockbruise family, they marched through a less glamorous part of the city. This was the place where normal citizens, soldiers, merchants and craftsmen lived. The streets were paved, albeit not with as nice stones as the nobles' district. Geralt was slightly impressed. Apart from E-Rantel, this is by far the most advanced and cleanest city he has ever been to. Of course he was aware that first looks could be deceiving. This city was obviously what the empire wanted to appear like. There were certainly people of the lower class who had been driven out, so this city could be remade. And undoubtedly, none other city in the empire would look like this. After roughly twenty minutes, they reached a small house. It looked a little bit rundown, but nothing too severe. All in all it was a place for the lower middle-class. Leinas knocked at the door. The man that opened, was in his late forties. His hair started to turn gray on several spots. Although he looked like he lost some muscle-mass in recent years, Geralt could tell he was an experienced soldier. As soon as he saw Leinas, his mood brightened up. He hugged her.

"Leinas. That's a nice surprise, What brings you here?"

"Hello, uncle Nior. I had to take care of some things in the city and hoped I could stay for a couple of days."

"Sure, sure. Oh, I see you brought a friend."

He said as he noticed Geralt. Leinas responded defensive.

"More of an acquaintance than a friend."

Geralt stretched his hand out.

"My name is Geralt. Nice to meet you."

Nior shook his hand and firmly patted his shoulder.

"I'm always happy to meet one of Leinas friends. Please, do come in."

Geralt and Leinas followed Nior inside. The room that served as a combination of dining room and kitchen was dimly lit and little bit dusty. Nior hurried to a shelf and grabbed a couple of cups and a jug of water. He pointed at the chairs next to his table.

"Please, sit down."

Leinas sat down and Geralt followed suite. Nior poured everyone something to drink.

"I am very sorry there's not much I can offer you. Had I known you would come to visit me, I would have prepared dinner for you and your friend."

Leinas responded.

"That's not necessary, but thank you. Me coming here wasn't planned, I just used the opportunity I had."

"Oooh, we have so much to talk about. It has almost been a year since we saw each other. How have you been?"

Geralt was surprised. For the first time, he had seen her genuinely smile. She was apparently very happy and comfortable. He patiently waited, as she told him ail the things she experienced in the last year. From her service as the emperors' trusted knight, to the events that led her to accompany the Sorcerer King to Kaer Morhen. Wide-eyed, Nior scratched his head in disbelief.

"So you are a Witcher? I mean, a real Witcher? With all the mutations, monster slaying and child abducting stuff?"

"Only the first two. The third one is a baseless rumor."

"Huh. I always thought you lot were fairy-tales."

"Yeah, I hear that a lot."

All in all, it was a very pleasant mood, Nior and Leinas continuously laughing and chatting. Then, Nior asked again.

"You still haven't told me why you are back in the city."

Leinas responded hesitantly.

"When I visited Kaer Morhen, Geralt noticed my condition. He told me about curses and how it might be possible to cure me. I came back to find the solution."

Euphoric, Nior exclaimed.

"Really? You can do that?"

He grabbed both of Geralts' hands.

"You have no idea, what that means to me. Leinas has always suffered because of her face. If you can really help her, please do. I will make sure to repay you."

Geralt answered.

"Thank you, but that will not be necessary. We already agreed on the payment and I don't need money."

"Still, if there is anything I can do to help, please let me know."

"Yes. In fact, there is something you could do."

Leinas pulled out a sheet of paper.

"Please take a look at this list. We are looking for people, who might hold a terrible grudge against me. Maybe you know someone I have missed."

"Why are you looking for someone like that?"

"Geralt explained to me, that a curse like mine doesn't arise by itself. Someone must have focused his anger and hatred on me."

"That's terrible. Who would do something like this to a child?"

"We are trying to find out."

Nior took the sheet and looked over thelist of names. He scratched his chin and asked.

"What does the x next to your parents' names and the o next to your sisters' mean?"

Geralt explained.

"We already visited them. It is almost certain that her parents are not responsible."

"And what about Marca?"

"Although I can't say for certain, it is highly unlikely. The only reason we didn't cross her name was, because I'm not 100 percent sure she isn't the one we are looking for."

"Good to know. Right now I can't think of anyone. How about you stay for the night and let me think about it? I am not sure I can add someone to the list, but I will try."

Leinas yawned.

"Yes, that's a good idea. The day was very tiring. Especially meeting with my sister and parents drained my energy."

"Then it's settled. Your room is still untouched. For you, Geralt, you can have my bed."

"Please, don't mind me. I am perfectly fine with sleeping on the ground."

"No, no, no. How could I treat my little girls' benefactor with such rudeness. At least let me prepare some sheets and pillow." After Nior pushed the chairs together in the chamber next to the living room and softened them with some pillows and sheets, they all went to sleep. The ream was almost completely dark, as even the moon was covered by clouds. However, this didn't pose a problem for Geralt and his recently improved night-vision. Geralt took off his armor and as he attempted to lay down, a horrible creaking noise could be heard. Many would feel very uncomfortable, but Geralt smiled faintly and said.

"Feels just like home."

Before long, Geralt was fast asleep. The next morning, Geralt woke up as he noticed a pleasant smell. He left the chamber and saw Nior, preparing breakfast. The smell came from the fresh bread on the table.

"Good morning. Sorry If I have been too loud. I didn't want to wake you up."

"You don't have to be. It was time to get up, anyway."

Nior smiled at him.

"Well, since you are awake anyways, maybe we should eat."

"Shouldn't we wait for Leinas?"

"Oh, that could take a while, You see, she isn't much of a morning person. She can be reeeeeally grumpy."

"If you say so."

Geralt sat down across from Nior. The bread was still warm and his cup was filled with a hot drink Geralt didn't know. It was black and had a strong aroma. After he took his first bite, Nior asked.

"Good,right? The bakery is owned by a friend of mine. He takes great pride in his products. Even nobles regularly sent their servants early in the morning to get some. But you have to get it as soon as he opens. He is sold out in a matter of an hour."

"Yes. It's really good."

For the next couple of minutes, the both of them ate in silence. Then, all of a sudden, Nior asked.

"Tell me, do you really think you can cure her? She has been through a lot and the only thing that kept her going was the will to be free. I don't want to imagine what would happen to her if that hope was crushed. I don't think she could survive that."

In a dark and analytical voice, Geralt said.

"As I mentioned earlier, if we can find the origin of the curse, I can cure her. The only thing that stands between her and her salvation is the identity of the culprit."

"About that, I kept thinking throughout the night and I came up with four more people. Leinas probably didn't think about them."

"Who are they?"

"Two belong to a rivaling noble family, the Folbera family. Leinas father was responsible for some heavy financial losses on their side and cheated them on some deal. Then there is a girl that is madly in love with her former fiance. I noticed her several times stalking these two. She was deadly jealous of her. The last one might be little far-fetched, but around the time she was cursed, several children in the surroundings vanished. There were some rumors that one of the priests was involved, but nothing could be proven."

"Why do you think those two incidents are connected?"

"It was the same priest that later refused to help her with her curse and threatened her with violence. I don't know why, but he seemed to hate her for some reason."

"That sounds suspicious. Thank you, you have been a big help."

Nior held his head down in despair.

"Who in the world would do such a thing to a little child?"

Geralt took a sip of his drink.

"Strong emotions can drive a person to do things they wouldn't normally do. Jealousy, hatred, loneliness, envy, wrath. A broken heart can be the source of many evil deeds."

Then the door opened with squeaky noises. Leinas entered the room, her hair disheveled and with tired eyes. Nior said mockingly.

"Look who finally decided to join us. Did the princess sleep well?"

Leinas responded with a grumpy voice.

"Leave me alone."

The three of them finished their breakfast. Afterwards, Nior said.

"I know you are really busy, but maybe you could do me a favor, Leinas."

"Sure, what is it?"

"You see, I have struggled finding a suitable training partner these days. Looks like nobody wants to waste their time with an old manlike me. For the sake of the old days, how about we train together, like we used to?"

All of a sudden, Leinas seemed very enthusiastic.

"Are you sure you can still do that, old man?"

"Oho. Look who is talking. Just because you were appointed as one of the four knights, doesn't mean I can't teach you a thing or two."

After they finished, all three of them went behind the house. Nior had built a small training ground with several practice dummies and a small ring-like battle ground. He took two of his practice weapons. Basically, they were long staffs with their tips wrapped in cloth to prevent injury. Leinas and Nior both took one of them and entered the ring. The marked area was roughly three meters in diameter.

"The usual rules?"

Leinas asked.

"Of course."

They took their battle stances. Geralt stood a couple of meters away, observing them carefully. As if by a signal only those two could hear, they suddenly sprung into motion. Leinas charged towards her foster father and aimed her thrust at his chest, but the old man managed to interject her attack by aiming at her legs with a sweeping attack. Leinas jumped over the pole and tried to attack Nior from above. For the next couple of seconds, she was pushing him back further and further, until he stood at the edge of the ring. In a last attempt to turn the tides, Nior activated his martial art.

"Ability Boost."

But Leinas followed suit.

"Ability Boost."

Then she intertwined her weapon with his and forced him to drop it. With the tip of her weapon at his throat, he laughingly said.

"OK, ok. I give up. Looks like I am no longer a match for you. I have to accept that you are better than me."

"You better do, old man."

Geralt calmly asked.

"Would you mind if I gave it a try?"

Geralt pointed at one of the practice spears. Nior looked puzzled.

"From what I can tell, you are using a sword. Leinas and I use spears. I don't know if I can teach you anything useful."

"Everything can be useful. There might be times where I am forced to use a weaponI am not familiar with. It could also help when facing opponents using staff weapons. I have not encountered many so far."

Nior smiled.

"That's a very good mind-set."

"Being well-prepared is one of the foundations my master taught me."

Geralt took a staff and tried to imitate Niors' posture. When Nior tried to launch an attack, Geralt made sure to observe every detail. From a normal humans' perspective he might appear fast, but for Geralt he looked almost painfully slow. But that didn't mean Geralt took him lightly. On the contrary. In the last days Geralt had noticed several times that his body and his senses were not on the same level. The sudden changes had experienced after his second mutation made it difficult for him to correctly judge and adjust his strength and speed. Therefore he took this mock battle as an opportunity to get accustomed to his new abilities. The handicap of a different weapon added to his training experience. He evaded Niors' first attack and attempted to counter, but Nior was already back in a defensive stance. This time, Geralt took the initiative and started an attack. Unfortunately, his thrust was intercepted when Nior managed to deflect the incoming attack.

"Ability Boost"

Nior tried to match with Geralts' strength and speed. The old man used this opening for a sweeping attack against Geralts' head. He took a step back to avoid the hit, when he suddenly realized a change in Niors' posture. Instinctively, Geralt swirled around and hit Nior with the long Staff of his weapon, pulling out the feet under him and knocking him to the ground. When he looked up, Geralt offered him a hand.

"Not only my little girl, but also her friend. Huuh. I am really getting old. Thanks for going easy on me."

"What do you mean."

"I have already lost my pride. You don't have to pretend. I noticed you weren't fighting me seriously."

"That's not true. I haven't taken you lightly, I simply didn't hit you as hard as I could. But I have to admit, that last attack of yours surprised me."

"Yes. That's a little trick I learned. Good to catch your opponents off guard, especially when they have a good grasp of the range and strength of your attacks."

"Hmm. Changing the leading hand mid-attack slightly changes the angle and reach of your attack. I have to keep that in mind."

"Yet you didn't seem to have any troubles dealing with it. I didn´t manage to land a single hit. I guess that's a Witchers' speed and reflexes for you."

"Don´t be so hard on yourself. A week ago I would have had to take you more serious."

"Somehow that doesn´t sound convincing."

"Still, thank you. I learned a lot. You never know when you encounter someone with an unusual weapon."

"Most soldiers and adventurers use swords, maces and axes, but there are a lot of different staff weapons out there. Spears and lances, but also war-hammers and I heard of a country far to the south where they use a curved, saber-like blade on a pole. And although it is very rare, some eccentric people use scythes. They can be pretty dangerous."

"Thanks for the advice."

"Ahem."

Leinas cleared her throat.

"If the two of you are finished I think we should go back to our original goal, don't you think?"

Geralt answered.

"Yes, of course."

Afterwards, Geralt and Leinas left Niors' home.

"I talked to him. He could add a couple of names to the list."

Leinas took the paper and looked over it.

"These nobles, I have only ever heard their names once, but I never met them. The priest is a scumbag. And who is this girl supposed to be?"

"Apparently the lover of your former fiance. Your uncle deemed her dangerous."

"Then it's best we take care of these four first."

The first one was the noble family Leinas' father defrauded. Albeit they still held a deep grudge against her father, they didn't even recognize Leinas. After she revealed her identity, they got furious but Geralt couldn't detect a magic reaction. Her next suspect was the girl. Upon arrival at her families' home, Geralt and Leinas learned that she was dead. Apparently she hanged herself shortly after Marca got officially engaged with Leinas former fiance. Her death was officially declared a suicide, but everyone that knew her had doubts. Geralt asked

"Do you think your family had something to do with that?"

"I don't know, but I know my father would do what ever is necessary to achieve his goals. More importantly, what do we do now? If she was the one we are looking for, there is nothing I can do, right? You said that the person had to believe."

Geralt nodded.

"We can't give up. Let's assume that she was innocent. There is nothing we can do, otherwise."

The last on the list was the priest.

"I don't really think he is the one. My family never had contact with the church before."

"Me neither, but it can't hurt to make sure."

When they entered the church, they were greeted by a priest apprentice.

"Welcome, visitors. How may I help you? Do you seek spiritual advice or do you require healing?"

"Neither. We are here to talk to the head priest."

At first the apprentice tried to deny the request, pretending that the head priest was currently unavailable, but after Leinas showed him her badge and threatened him with all kinds of charges, ranging from obstructing official matters to treason, he quickly gave in and went in the back to notify the head priest.

"I must say, your reputation is truly helpful. Had I been an my own, I would have had to sneak around and wait for him to come out."

"One of the benefits that comes with being the emperors' servant. But shouldn't you have similar privileges?"

"I don't know and frankly, I don't care. I never wanted special treatment. Being normal is more than enough."

Geralt walked around, taking a look at the statues and paintings decorating the walls. Some believers were kneeling, praying in silence.

"So this is a church?"

"Have you never been in one?"

"Not that I remember."

"Do Witchers believe in the six gods?"

"I can't speak for all Witchers, but I for my part don't believe in any gods. How about you?"

"I was raised believing that the gods are looking over us, but I can't say I am a devout believer."

After a while the apprentice returned.

"Please follow me. The head priest will see you in his office."

In the office sat an older man, clad in a very expensive robe. He appeared to be in his late fifties. Sitting behind a large desk he read some documents. He didn't even care enough to look at them when he said.

"Tell me what you want. I am a very busy man."

Leinas said.

"We came to verify something. It might be possible that somebody here committed a sin."

Without looking up, the head priest answered.

"That's not possible. I know each and every one here."

Leinas slammed her hands on his desk.

"Then you should know what I am talking about."

The head priest wore a dirty grin when he finally looked at her.

"Listen. Making false accusations just because you weren't fit to receive the gods' forgiveness is a serious matter. Maybe you should reflect more on your own mistakes than looking for flaws on others."

Leinas was furious, but managed to. contain her anger.

"If there is nothing else, then please leave. And tell your friend to respect this place. He mustn't look at these documents. They are confidential."

During their interaction, Geralt wasn't really paying attention to them. He stood in front of a bookshelf and seemed very interested in it. He stretched out his hand. The head priest got very angry.

"Hey. I said to leave that alone. Touch only one of them and I will inform the knights. They will arrest you for that."

Nonchalantly he said.

"Then, by all means, do so. Aard"

The magical shock-wave shattered the bookshelf, sending books and wooden splinters flying everywhere.

"How dare you? Using your godless magic in this place of worship Is blasphemy."

"What's down there?"

Geralt pointed at the place where the bookshelf stood. After it was destroyed it revealed a hidden passage. A narrow way and some stairs led down.

"T-that's a secret. That's where we store some holy relics. We need to hide them from barbarians like you."

"Since you are a pious man, I am sure you will forgive this barbarian for what he is about to do."

Geralt grabbed the priests arm and twisted it behind his back, forcing him to stand on his toes to make the pain bearable.

"Ouch. You are hurting me. Have you any idea who you are dealing with. I arm going to make you pay."

"Yeah, yeah. Never heard that before. Now go, before I make you."

Then he shoved him down the stairs. Curious, Leinas followed them. She couldn't see anything because of the lack of light. Geralt had no problems with the dark, but the priest had troubles stepping on the stairs. He fell down the last five. At the bottom of the staircase hung a torch. Geralt took it and snapped his fingers.

"Igni"

The sudden light illuminating the passage blinded the priest and Leinas, but their eyes quickly got used to it. The staircase wasn't long, but they were now clearly underground. The stone walls didn't look like they were part of the original church. This place had been built later. Puzzled, Leinas asked.

"What are we doing down here?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't plan doing this, but as soon as we entered his office, I had a terrible feeling. I just had to make sure."

"I warn you one last time. If you further desecrate this place the gods' wrath will fall upon you."

The priest pleaded desperately.

"Shut up."

Geralt dragged him along this narrow path, until they reached a small room. The tragedy Leinas witnessed was terrible. There were several children, chained to the walls. Their limbs were as thin as twigs and most of them were barely alive. Most didn't even notice someone entered the room. They all were covered in bruises and their eyes looked hollow and dead. Geralt, who had been calm and composed till now grabbed the priest by his throat and pushed him against the wall. He yelled at him.

"What are you doing down here?"

The priest, troubles for air, said.

"I don't know what your problem is. These are orphans. Nobody cares what happens to them. Their own parents abandoned them. They are useless garbage. Here they are at least of some use.

"Enraged, Geralt threw him to the ground. The priest tried to crawl away, but Geralt grabbed a handful of his hair and slammed his face down.

"Do you have no shame? Those are innocent children. How can you even pretend to be a righteous man when you do something like this?"

The priest watched terrified as Geralt raised his fist and crashed it into his face. He raised his fist again, but Leinas, putting all her strength and weight into gripping his arm, managed to hold him back.

"Wait. He is already unconscious. Any more and he will die. Do you really want that?"

For a moment, Geralt seemed to think if it was worth it. Leinas noticed and added.

"Do you really want these children to see that?"

After realizing how it must look for them, he let go of the priests' head. During the sunset they both sat on a small wall across from the church, looking as several priests were taken away by knights. The children had been taken to the magical academy for treatment. Leinas said.

"I made sure they would face their trial in the Sorcerer Kingdom. They will never be able to atone for their crimes, but at least they will have a very hard time."

"Thank you for holding me back. I really lost it back there."

Half-jokingly, Leinas responded.

"I had no idea you could be that emotional. You always seem calm to the point of indifferent."

Geralt responded to her joke.

"Please keep it to yourself. I appear very unprofessional this way."

She nodded.

"Sure."

Then the two watched the sun slowly disappear behind the horizon.


	6. Chapter 2 Revelation Part 2

Day after day, Leinas and Geralt checked the suspects on her list. Some had to be hunted, others openly came at them. Some were dead, some had already forgotten their grudge, But they all had one thing in common. None of them caused a magical reaction from Geralts' medallion. After a week they had finally crossed the last name of their list. In silence they both walked down an empty street. Leinas was deeply depressed and out of hope. Soon she would have to face the harsh reality. The reality that she would never be able to be free. In an awkward attempt to lighten the mood, Geralt asked.

"That was the last one for today. What are we going to do tomorrow?"

She didn't answer. If she didn't have an answer or wasn't listening at all, Geralt wasn't sure of. Carefully he put his hand on her shoulder. She brushed him off and said.

"I want to be alone right now."

"You sure? I don't feel comfortable leaving you alone."

"What? Are you afraid I might do something reckless?"

"A little bit."

"Don't worry. I just want to head to the next bar and drink until I forget. Alone."

Reluctantly, Geralt said.

"Fine. I will go back to your uncles' house and think about something."

After they parted ways, Geralt returned to Niors' house. Everything was dark, so he was probably not at home. As he didn't had keys, he sat down in front of the door and patiently waited for Nior to return. It was dark night as he finally came back.

"Geralt. Why are you sitting here? Is Leinas not with you?"

Geralt shack his head.

"No, She wanted to be left alone."

Nior opened the door and they both entered the house.

"Oh. That doesn't sound good. No luck today again?"

"No."

"Dammit."

Geralt sat down and began drumming on the table with his fingers.

"It's getting worse every day. I'm afraid if we don't solve this mess soon, she will hurt herself."

Nior dropped his head in desperation.

"I know. She is trying to maintain a cool facade in front of me, but I can tell that she is suffering. I wish I could do something to help her."

Geralt remained silent for a couple of minutes. Then he said.

"Are you sure there isn't something you want to tell me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Isn't there something you are keeping to yourself?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

Geralt reached in his pocket, then he threw a bundle of paper on the table.

"I found these old letters under a loose floor board."

Nior picked up the pile.

"Those are private. I can't believe you went through my stuff, Don't tell me you read them."

"I did. And they were very insightful."

"I was young, OK? Everybody does stupid things in their youth."

"Yes, But I think you should have told Leinas that you and her mother were a couple. You even wanted to get married. Then she got engaged to her father. Not for romance or love. For something you couldn't offer. Status and wealth. She dumped you, an honest, upright but poor man and exchanged you for a life in luxury."

"You want to know if I was angry? Yes. Furious even. But that has nothing to do with Leinas. Her mother left me long before she was even born,let alone before she was cursed. By that time I had long but forgotten my grudge."

"At first I thought so, too. Then I found another letter. From a much later date. Apparently the two of you had an extramarital affair. She probably promised you to get divorced to live with you. A lie. I only met her once for a couple of minutes, but she is the type to say whatever it takes to get attention."

"B-but that's ridiculous. Yes, l admit. I hated her for what she did to me and how she played with me, but I would never harm Leinas. Ever since she was born I cared for her like she was my own child."

Nior got more and more nervous. Then Geralt said.

"Here's the thing. I believe you. I watched you and Leinas. The way you care for her. That's not something that can be pretended easily. But that doesn't matter. One moment of hate or grieve is enough. You were so mad at her mother, you probably thought something along the lines of "I wish her family would fall apart.'. You didn't have to target Leinas directly. She became collateral damage."

After Nior realized what he had done, tears swelled up in his eyes. This sudden revelation made him feel sick and he almost wanted to throw up.

"S-since when did you suspect me?"

"To be honest? The evening we met."

"Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"In case I was wrong I didn't want to ruin your relationship. I had to be absolutely sure."

"Does she know?"

Geralt shook his head.

"I think she deserves hearing it from you."

"I don't know if I can."

Geralt stood up and slowly walked towards the door.

"I'm going to !eave for the night. She will come back here later, so the two of you can talk. When I come back tomorrow morning, she will know. If not, I will tell her."

"Forcing me to destroy our family is outright cruel."

Without turning around, he said calmly over his shoulder.

"Now you know why we are called monsters."

Then he left. Geralt spent the night wandering the city, trying to get his mind of the mess that was awaiting him as soon as he returned. In fact, he didn't want for the morning to come. Because then he would have to deal with whatever scene he would find. But all the wishing was pointless. The sun slowly rose, like always. It was time to return to Nior and Leinas. He stood in front of the door for a couple of minutes. After entering there was no turning back. Leinas and Nior sat on the table. But it was everything else but ordinary. The scene that was unfolded before his eyes showed the rough night they had. Shattered plates and cups covered the ground and a couple of chairs looked like they had been thrown around. Lastly Nior had a black eye and some bruises all over his body. Leinas on the other hand was perfectly fine, apart from her red eyes. If from crying or from drinking last night, Geralt wasn稚 sure. He tried to act as surprised as he could.

"What the heck happened here?"

Leinas said in a trembling voice.

"I know who cursed me."

"Isn´t that great?"

"I´m not sure."

Nior didn´t dare to look up.

"Uncle confessed that he is responsible for this."

For a moment her tone got very furious.

"Yes. It is my fault. I deserve every kind of punishment for it. But believe me when I say I would never hurt you on purpose."

Leinas seemed to forcefully calm herself down. Tears started running down her cheek.

"Yes, I know."

"l am infinitely sorry. Had I known earlier, I would have told you. I only figured it out, last night."

"I-I don´t know how I feel about this. In front of you I always said that I would make the one responsible suffer. But you told me nonetheless. I am grateful for that. On the other hand I can barely hold my anger back."

"You are right to be angry. But we have to think about what we are doing next."

He looked at Geralt, waiting for him to say something.

"I already explained it. The only way to get rid of that curse is putting it on the caster, in this case, Nior."

Leinas answered, unusually insecure and timid.

"So the only way to be healed is to curse the only real family I ever had?"

"l am sorry. All this happily ever after only works in fairy tales. In reality, someone has to pay the price."

"I don´t think I can do that."

"That's understandable. And I won´t force you. It is your decision, after all."

"No."

Nior Interrupted them.

"It is my decision. I am responsible for this. So it is up to me to make things right. And I say you should do it."

Perplexed, Leinas looked at him.

Do you have any idea what that means?

He smiled gently as he nodded his head.

"Yes. I have long made up my mind that if I would have the chance to take that burden off your shoulders, I would do it."

Now fully unable to hold back her tears, Leinas started violently crying. She hugged Nior who in return gently patted her head. It took her a while to calm down, in the meantime Nior held her, patiently waiting for her to be ready. After they both regained their composure, Nior asked Geralt.

"So, what's next?"

"We need a big, reflecting surface. A calm, clear lake or polished metal would work. The clearer the better."

They both pondered for a second, then Leinas said.

"My mother has a big mirror in her dressing room."

"That's perfect."

They rushed to the Rockbruise mansion. The last time she was stopped by the guards and she forced her way in by using the emperors´ authority. Not this time. When the guard attempted to stop her, she simply knocked him out, Once inside, the butler tried to stop them, but only for a brief moment. The moment he saw the determination in Leinas´ face, he immediately stepped out of the way, pressing against the wall like he was squashed by an invisible force. Once they reached her mothers´ room, Leinas didn´t have the patience to knock. She opened the door with enough force to almost rip it out. Her mother, clearly surprised, said.

"Leinas? What is that supposed to mean?"

Leinas grabbed her mothers´ wrist and dragged her out of the room.

"Ouch, ouch,Leinas, stop it. You are hurting me."

After she reached the door, she roughly shoved her mother out and slammed the door behind her. She closed the lock before asking Geralt.

"ls that good enough?"

While she was clearing the room, Geralt had inspected the mirror.

"Yes. This should work."

Nior asked.

"What do we have to do?"

"Sit down next to each other, facing the mirror."

Next he rummaged through the closet of Leinas´ mother. He was pulling out a lot of make-up, perfume and utensils for hair styling.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking for this."

He said as he pulled out a lip-stick. He opened it.

"Good enough."

Then he used it to draw a circle around Leinas and Nior, then drawing some strange-looking characters in the circle. After he was done, he tossed the lipstick aside and turned to Leinas and Nior.

"Now I need you to listen carefully. It is essential you hold as still as possible. Once the ritual is started, you will feel a light tingling in your arms and legs and maybe a cold shiver running down your spine. When that happens, you know it is working."

They both nodded.

"Leinas, please uncover your face. You have to keep looking at it during the procedure."

Reluctantly she did as she was told.

"I need you to repeat what I'm saying. Don't say anything else until we are done. That's really important, do you understand?"

She nodded.

"Good, Then we can start."

Geralt cleared his throat and then started the chant.

"Great power that resides in everything and nothing"

"Great power that resides in everything and nothing"

"I plead you to reverse"

"I plead you to reverse"

"the up and the down"

"the up and the down"

"to right the wrong"

"to right the wrong"

"and free me from this mark born of malice."

"and free me from this mark born of malice."

After Leinas spoke these last words, she could feel her face getting hot. At one point it became so bad, she wanted to close her eyes to deal with the pain, but Geralt stopped her.

"Don't look away. Keep eye-contact with your reflection."

He grabbed his medallion.

"It's working, the source of the curse is moving."

Leinas could feel the heat subside, or to be more precise, she felt like the source of heat had been taken of her face. She secretly cast a glance at Nior, who was sitting left of her. Soon he would be the victim of the curse. Then, when she looked back into the mirror, she saw something moving quickly. Geralt reached behind him and drew his sword. He swung it down right in the middle between them. The only thing Leinas could remember after that was a terribly loud noise. After she woke up, she looked around the room. She might have been unconscious for a minute or two, but not more. The air was still filled with dust. The ground was covered with shards of glass and wood from her mothers' destroyed dresser. She was also covered in debris. After further looking around, she saw that the windows behind her were also shattered. Nior had been pushed to the opposite site of the room, scratched from shards and covered in dirt. Her eyes fell upon the door, or what was left of it. Geralt was lying on the ground. The shock-wave must have thrown him through the door. Next she saw her father and mother, apparently red from anger and yelling something, but Leinas couldn't hear it because her ears were still ringing. She tried to stand up, but was interrupted by the sudden pain running through her entire body. She was probably covered from head to toe in bruises. She slowly limped to Nior, who was in a similar state. He was heavily bruised and temporarily deaf, but fine. Slowly her hearing returned. The first she heard were fragments of what her father was yelling.

"..wha..idi...hore..."

She had no nerve to deal with him right now and threatened him with her fist. Then she saw somebody putting his hand on her fathers' shoulder. Geralt was back on his feet and talked to her father. She couldn't understand them, but according to her fathers' frightened face it must have been the right thing. He and her mother left, leaving the three of them alone. Now that she could see him better, she noticed his right arm hanging down in an unnatural way. It was almost certainly broken. She tried to speak, but Geralt pointed at his ears, signaling that he couldn't hear her. She had no other choice but wait. After almost an hour, sitting in the destroyed room, they were able to hear good enough to hold a conversation, albeit a loud one. Leinas asked.

"What was that? You never said anything like that could happen."

"It wouldn't have happened had I done nothing."

Next Nior asked.

"So you weren't supposed to use your sword?"

"No. That wasn't part of the ritual. It was an idea I had while I observed the energy moving. I thought that maybe I could disperse the energy with my sword."

"What do you mean?"

Geralt smiled and answered.

"Congratulations. You are now both free."

Leinas, barely able to believe her still slightly ringing ears, asked in disbelief.

"B-but...but...you said somebody would have to pay the price."

"Yes. My arm is broken and we all look pretty beat up. More than enough if you ask me."

Now remembering Geralt was in a worse state than they, Leinas asked concerned.

"That's right. Your arm. Should we call for a priest or something?"

"That's not necessary. I already applied first aid and straightened the bones. With my potion everything will be fine in a couple of hours."

Leinas exhaled relieved. Nior said.

"Damn, that was dangerous."

"Well, the energy had to go somewhere."

"You knew this would happen?"

"Yes."

"Then why did you do it? I said I was fine with taking the curse. It was the lesser evil."

Geralt looked at the ceiling and pondered for a moment.

"Greater, lesser, in-between. Evil is evil. If I have to choose between two of them, I'd rather not choose at all."

Nior straightened his posture and bowed deeply.

"I am very grateful. I have no idea how I will ever be able to repay you. You risked your life for us."

"Don't get me wrong. Had all of this happened a month ago, I wouldn't have taken the same action. My sword, my armor and my new mutation. If any of these three things had been missing, I wouldn't have been able to get away with so little damage. It might have been different In the past, but nowadays I can't afford to throw my life away. I have people waiting for me to return."

Hello everyone. Originally I wanted to release this chapter earlier, but had to rewrite it several time. Hope you enjoy it nonetheless.

Happy easter to everyone.


	7. Chapter 2 Revelation Part 3

It took the Blue Roses only 2 days to reach the Witcher fortress. On their way there they passed a couple of farming settlements with only a handful of people each. The town itself was fairly new build. It was constructed in a circular shape with the fortress in its center. They were still right outside the town, but the huge towers could be seen from the distance.

"That's not that bad. A little bit more and it would pass for a castle."

Said Evileye. But once they got closer, Lakyus noticed that they were still under construction. Skeletons were carrying stones and logs, rebuilding the towers and walls, Gagaran, gripping her weapon a little bit tighter, said.

"I really hate being surrounded by monsters."

"Don't act rashly. We don't want to attract unnecessary attention."

Lakyus warned her.

"What is the plan?"

Tia asked. Lakyus answered.

"We split up. You, Tina and Evileye take a look around the city. Make a rough map of the town and the surroundings. Gagaran and I will take a closer look at the fortress and talk to some people. We will meet here in an hour."

The twins and the magic caster nodded. When Lakyus approached the big gate, she noticed a couple of guards standing in front of it. One was a young man in his mid to late teenage years. He wore leather armor and carried a short-sword at his waist. The other one was a demi-human, a lizard-man to be precise. He didn't wore any armor, only some light cloth. He also carried a sword, albeit a long-sword. It seemed like they were chatting with each other, but as soon as they noticed Lakyus and Gagaran getting closer, they straightened their posture and tried to look like proper guards. The young man said.

"Can we help you?"

Lakyus stated the reason for coming here.

"Yes. We were invited by the owner of this fortress. We would like to meet with him."

This time, the Lizard-man answered.

"I'm sorry, but he is not here."

Lakyus was slightly incredulous.

"When is he coming back?"

"Hard to say. He has been gone for almost a month now, but he hasn't said when he would return. It could take a while."

Now Gagaran spoke.

"Oi. She said that we were invited. I'm sure your boss will get angry with you if you let his guests stay outside."

The two guards looked at each other for a moment, then started laughing. It took a whole minute for the two of them to regain their composure. Then the lizard-man spoke.

"Thank you very. Much, I really needed a good laugh. This whole day was boring as hell."

Then the young man said to the bewildered Gagaran.

"I am very sorry, but we are under strict order not to let anyone inside. When he left he said very clearly 'Let nobody inside until I'm back.' And that's what we are doing. You have to wait in town, like the others."

"The others?"

The human guard spoke again.

"There have been a bunch of people coming in the last couple of days. They are staying at an inn in the town. If you like, I can show you the way."

"Is there a reason many people came?"

"Actually, this place is a training facility for adventurers. The guild master trains us and according to our performance we receive a promotion."

"You want to become adventurers?"

The young man nodded.

"Yes, ever since I have been a little boy."

Gagaran asked the lizard-man.

"What about you?"

He shook his head.

"No, our chief asked for volunteers to check out this place. I just wanted to receive training. The master is a great warrior and I learned quite a lot. Before coming here I was a warrior of our tribe and very confident in my strength, but he effortless defeated me, so I decided to complete my training here before returning."

Gagaran mumbled under her breath.

"Great warrior my ass."

Lakyus grabbed her companions arm and said.

"I am very sorry for troubling you. We will wait in town for his return. We will stay at the inn you mentioned. But could I ask for a favor?"

"Sure."

"Could you please inform us, as soon as he returns?"

She held a couple of coins in her hand. The two guards shrugged after looking at each other and took the coins.

"Sure, why not:"

Then she left, Gagaran following behind her. After they were out of sight, Gagaran asked.

"Why did you do that? There is no reason for us to actually talk to him. If he isn't here, all the better. We just have to find a way inside now."

"Yes, but in case he comes back sooner than we expect, I want to know it right away. I don't want any unexpected surprises."

Shortly after, they met their team-mates right outside the town. Evileye greeted them by saying.

"You look like it didn't went well."

Lakyus shook her head.

"The Witcher isn't here and he ordered to keep everyone outside."

"That fits with what we saw."

Said Tina. Her sister continued.

"The security in the fortress is very tight. Patrols on the walls, always in pairs and a couple of undead are there, too."

"Any way to get inside without getting noticed?"

"The northern wall is still unfinished, but there are a lot of dwarfs and skeletons working. If possible, we would like to observe it for a couple of days before infiltrating, waiting for a good opportunity."

"Do that. In the meantime, we will talk to the people here and try to figure out a way to smuggle people to the Council state."

"There's another thing."

Tia said.

"We talked to one of the dwarfs about the construction and when he was distracted, O caught a glimpse of the blue prints. It seems like they are planning to install ballista on the towers once they are finished."

Gagaran said nervously.

"They are constructing heavy siege weapons?"

"That seems to be the case."

Lakyus held her chin, contemplating for a second.

"That's not good. That can only mean they are preparing for a war with the council state."

"What should we do?"

"Tia, Tina. You keep looking for a way inside, but don't do anything before I give you permission. We can't afford to turn them into enemies yet. If you can't find a safe way, we will wait for the Witcher to return and go Inside that way. He will probably keep an eye on us, but we will figure out something about that. One of the guards mentioned other people coming here and wanting entrance to the fortress. There might be others after the secret map. They are staying at an inn. We will go there and try to learn more."

The inn in question was rather big for a town of this size. Housing forty people wasn't out of question. It was nothing fancy and the owner clearly valued functionality over luxury. The interior lacked any decoration and the dining hail had only tables and benches. On the other hand,the delicious smell of grilled meat more than made up for it. Apart from the Blue Roses, only two other people were present. One was a person with a hood drawn over his face, sitting at the far end of the room. The other was the girl behind the counter, resting her head on her hands, seeming almost asleep. When Lakyus approached her, she cleared her throat. The girl quickly looked up in surprise and said.

"W-wow. Guests, I mean... Welcome, dear guests. Would you like rooms for the night? Or might I interest you in our daily menu? The wild boar was hunted just yesterday."

"Yes. Rooms for five please and something to eat sounds nice."

"With pleasure. How long do you want to stay?"

"We are not quite sure. A week will do for now."

"That will be five silver coins per day, another one for a meal. If you wish to extend your stay, just say so."

Lakyus put the money on the counter.

"If you would please take a seat. I will bring you your food immediately. If you want some drinks, I can highly recommend the ale. It pairs well with meat."

"Sounds good to me."

The adventurers sat down and after a couple of minutes the waitress returned bringing a couple of cups and a huge jug. After she placed them in front of each other, she left, only to return again with plates filled with delicious-smelling meat and vegetables. Afterwards she bowed and said.

"If there's anything else I can help you with, please don't hesitate to ask."

"Actually, there is something, You see, we are new here and would like to ask a couple of questions, if you don't mind."

"Not at all. There isn't much to do this time of the day."

"No guests?"

"Not yet. The students of the guild usually come when it's already getting dark."

Gagaran asked.

"Must be tough. Serving a bunch of hotheaded adventurers can bring all kinds of trouble."

The waitress shook her head.

"Not really. They are usually too tired to cause trouble. The guild master makes sure they spent all of their energy on training. Many times they fall asleep sitting right here at the counter."

She said giggling.

"But what happens if one of them acts out?"

She thought for a moment.

"Well, there was one time three of them got drunk and got a little touchy. Nothing serious. I have experienced worse. Apparently the guild master got wind of it and punished them. I don't know what happened, but the next day they came here, kneeling on the ground and apologizing. They looked so miserable I couldn't even be angry with them."

Next Evileye asked.

"The guild master, he is the Lord of this region, right? What do you know about him?"

"That you better not call him that when he can hear you. He really hates it."

"Oho, why is that?"

"Hmmm. I'm not sure, but he seems to hold a deep aversion towards all nobles. Well, except for the king."

Next it was Tias' turn to ask a question.

"We heard some rumors about him that he is ... different."

"Yes. I was surprised when I heard about it, but he seems to be a Witcher, just like in those old fairy-tales."

Then she hastily added.

"Oh, but you don't have to worry about that. He is a nice person. His name is Geralt and everyone here likes him."

She got closer to them, as if she would tell them a secret.

"Do you want to know how the students of the guild call him? The white wolf. When he heard that, he seemed very amused by it."

"Seems like he is a nice person."

"Actually, there have been a couple of women here that tried to get closer to him, like really close."

"And why is that?"

"When the town was still under construction, several carriages brought a lot of gold to the fortress. Seriously, I have never seen so much money. Rumors are that he has a vault in there, filled to the brim with treasures."

"That explains the tight security around the fortress."

"Many would think that, but it's little bit different."

"What do you mean?"

"They secured the fortress that hard only a month ago, long after the money came in."

"Did something happen?"

"Yes. I heard that somebody broke into the fortress and tried to steal something, Geralt caught him In the act and fought him, but the thief managed to escape."

"Then he raised the security due to this break-in?"

"Hmm. Now that I think about it, it happened a week later. He went to E-Rantel and when he returned, he brought two people with him. The fortress has been in total lock-down ever since. Nobody gets in and the students are only allowed to leave in small groups."

"Wow, those must be very important people."

The waitress giggled.

"Oh yes. The sight broke several girls' hearts. He returned accompanied by a young women and little girl. The woman was very pretty. Red hair and well-built. I can understand why he has taken a liking to her."

"Is there a reason to believe that?"

"A couple of days later I overhead some of the students talking about her. She and Geralt have been arguing like an old married couple and the little girl always referred to Geralt as big brother."

"So he brought his family here to keep them safe?"

"Mhm. I also heard that somebody tried to kill the girl and that Geralt has been very nervous ever since."

She got closer to them.

"Rumors say that the woman is a princess from a foreign country and that the guild master found her on his last journey. They immediately fell in love with each other and despite him being a Witcher she decided to leave her country and throne behind to live with him."

The waitress seemed to be absorbed in her delusions, but the sound of Evileye clicking her tongue brought her back.

"Apart from your fantasies, what do you really know about her?"

"Not much. I only saw her once, when they first came here, roughly three weeks ago."

"Describe her."

"She is around 17 years old, a little bit smaller than me. Red hair, emerald green eyes and a slim waist. All in all very pretty. Most men couldn't stop ogling her. Or they were fascinated by the little girl."

"Wasn't she her sister?"

The waitress shook her head.

"No, the girl was an elf. Maybe six years old."

"Why were they fascinated? I mean, sure. You don't meet elves every day, but seeing one shouldn't be that unusual."

"She had two different colored eyes. That really surprised me."

"And they haven't left the fortress since they came here?"

Slightly depressed, the waitress continued.

"Unfortunately, that is also the reason why business has gone down the last two weeks. Usually the adventurers would come every evening to drink, but currently almost none of them are allowed to leave the fortress. If not for the newcomers, I would have serious problems."

Curious, Tia asked.

"What can you tell us about these newcomers?"

"Most of them are young adventurers who want to learn from the Guild master. After all, it is a pretty sweet deal. The Sorcerer Kingdom pays the fees and provides enough food and shelter. If you complete the training, you can pay back by doing quests for the kingdom. It's not the whole sum, only a nominal amount."

"And the others? Who else is trying to talk to the guild master?"

The waitress seemed to think for a couple of seconds.

"There are also a couple of merchants, trying to strike a deal with the regional lord. Oh, then there is this guy."

She inconspicuously pointed at the hooded person in the back corner of the room. Then she quietly said.

"He tries to hide it, but he is an orc."

Gagaran asked in a worried tone.

"An orc?"

The waitress nodded.

"Yes. I was pretty excited because I have never seen one. I even had to ask one of the guards what he is."

"Aren't you worried?"

"About what?"

Gagaran had a puzzled look, then Lakyus said.

"Well, most human aren't that comfortable around demi-humans."

"Oh that. It took me a while to get used to it, but in the end his money is as good as that of everyone else. And as long as he causes no trouble, I don't mind. The only thing that annoys me is, that he constantly tries to pay with currency from the Council State. But because of that I could charge him extra, so no harm done."

"So he is from the Council State?"

Disinterested, the waitress answered.

"Yes, but that is nothing special. We are right next to them, so of course there would be visitors from there."

Lakyus said.

"Thank you for your time. You really helped us a lot."

The waitress stood up and bowed politely.

"Thank you for patronage."

After she left, Lakyus asked her companions.

"What do you think about this?"

Tia answered.

"The thief was most probably Rigrit. She already said that she made a mess in there."

Her team-mates nodded.

"It could be difficult to get inside while they are that vigilant. We should wait for the Witcher to return. Maybe they will get a bit more lax if their boss is around."

Evileye disagreed.

"I don't think that is a good idea. We should get it done as soon as possible. Waiting for too long could bring us in a huge disadvantage."

Tina responded.

"But apart from a frontal assault, there is no way in. No regular deliveries we could sneak in with, no guards we could bribe or shift change we could take advantage of. And I thought that was what we wanted to avoid?"

Begrudgingly, Evileye agreed. Next, Lakyus asked.

"What else have we learned?"

"There are a lot of travelers her. Merchants aside, many inexperienced adventurers are currently in this town. We have to be careful around them. In case one of them recognizes us, we might have to leave early. When they know we are adventurers from the kingdom, they might get hostile towards us."

Evileye then asked.

"And what about his..."

Evileye thought for a second.

"...guests?"

Lakyus answered.

"The woman? Hard to say. Could be his lover or family. The little girl is maybe someone he wants to turn into a Witcher."

The twins shortly whispered to each other, then Tia said.

"We think she has a relation to the Elven Kingdom."

"What makes you think so?"

"A long time ago we heard rumors about a special trait the royal family has. Mismatching eye-colors."

"Then there is the probability that she belongs to the elven royalty?"

"It is certainly possible."

"But why is she here?"

Gagaran responded.

"Maybe that undead made the Witcher abduct her to keep her as a hostage, so he can blackmail the Elven King."

"Hmm. Forcing him to do his bidding by threatening his daughter. That seems plausible."

Gagaran responded to Lakyus' mumbling.

"Only a monster would use little girl as a bargaining chip. That damn undead."

Evileye said.

"I agree with you, but maybe you should tone it down a bit. If anyone hears you we could get in trouble."

They looked around, but gladly nobody was near them, so they continued their discussion. Ten days passed by like this, with Tia and Tina scouting the town and the surrounding forest and Lakyus trying to build connections to merchants and possible smugglers. Unfortunately it didn't went as well as they hoped. The room they occupied in the inn already had to be prolonged for another week. Lakyus and her team-members were sharing what they learned with each other, like always. Lakyus sighed.

"That's a lot harder than expected."

Her companions nodded.

"I didn't think we would find smugglers everywhere, but for there to be none is quite surprising."

Gagaran added.

"It seems like the Sorcerer King checked up front who he can send to this place and made sure they would stay in line."

"What else do we know?"

Tia responded to Lakyus' question after she rolled out a self-made map.

"Apart from the road that leads to this place, there are no other frequently used paths, The forest seems to be very dense and old. Navigating it without knowing our way around better would be pretty difficult."

Then her sister continued.

"After speaking with several residents, we could confirm three things. Around two months ago a huge amount of money has been delivered to the fortress."

Lakyus intercepted.

"Mast probably the money he collected from several nobles. I heard stories that it must have been a hefty sum for each."

"Probably. We heard one of the merchants talk about a vault that is hidden somewhere inside. We compared that rumor to the rough sketch Rigrit gave us. The only place this vault can be located is somewhere in the basement. That's the place we have to look for. If our assumption is right, the map is in there."

Lakyus thought for a moment about it.

"Rigrit already checked the library and every other possible place."

Now Tia spoke again.

"Second, the fortress is impossible to infiltrate unnoticed. We could get inside, but then we would have to look for the hidden vault. That could be difficult without killing at least a couple of the patrolling adventurers."

Lakyus shook her head.

"No. We can't afford that. Even if we were willing to risk casualties, there are also undead roaming. The corpses could spontaneously become undead themselves. If that happens, our cover will blow."

"The third thing is about the girls he brought with him, The red-haired seems to be his lover and the little girl apparently clung to him and called him brother and similar things. Maybe he adopted her or something like that."

Gagaran snorted.

"I bet he kidnapped that poor child and now she is so frightened that she tries to appeal to him."

"That's only speculation, but we know that neither of them has left the fortress since then."

"See, they are prisoners."

Their discussion was suddenly interrupted by a knock on their door, Gagaran stood up and opened the door. In front of their room stood the young guard they met on their first day.

"If I remember correctly,"

he started

"You wanted to be Informed as soon as the guild master is back. A couple of minutes ago he returned."

Lakyus said.

"Thank you very much. You have been a great help."

"It was nothing, really. Now, if you don't mind, there are others who I need to inform."

"Others?"

"Yep. Almost everyone paid us to be informed, just like you did."

The young man indicated a slight bow and left. After Gagaran closed the door, Lakyus said.

"Seems like it's time for plan B. We will ask him to grant us access to the fortress and wait for a moment to look into the vault."

And like this, the members of Blue Rose grabbed their belongings and went to the Witcher fortress.

Hi everyone, I had a Little bit more time These last days and managed to write an additional chapter. have fun with it. Next will come on sunday


	8. Intermission

On an ordinary day the inner sanctum was a place of calm and composed reason. A place of worship and contemplation for the highest echelons of the Slane Theocracy. Unfortunately, today was no ordinary day. In the last week the news that arrived them were really unsettling. Whether they came from the newly occupied Kingdom of Re-Estize or their spies within the Baharuth Empire or the Sorcerer Kingdom. Every new information seemed worse than the previous one. The crushing defeat of the Re-estize army, the flawless occupation, the execution of most parts of the nobility and the following submission of the last remaining member of the royal family were only the tip of the iceberg. From their spies in E-Rantel, they learned that only two Individuals destroyed the army. All they could say was that one wore a black, the other a red armor. They couldn't get close enough to learn more. Then came the next heavy blow. The Dwarven Kingdom, the Baharuth Empire and the northern part of the Holy Kingdom all formally acknowledged the annexation by the Sorcerer Kingdom, which gave the Slane Theocracy very limited wiggle room. They had no other choice but to accept that and maintain their distance. But when they thought that they had already reached rock bottom, they found that there was still a deeper point. The Witcher Guild, whose members they had been targeting and eliminating for centuries, had officially joined forces with the Sorcerer King, who in return was rebuilding and arming their fortress. Not only were the biggest threat for humanity and detestable abominations now allies, it was only a matter of time till the Witchers would take their revenge on them. But then, just before their meeting was about to take place, one member of the holocaust scripture returned from the Elven Kingdom with a sliver of hope. The former elven king was dead, whether it really was a suicide like propagated or he was assassinated by his own subordinates was still not totally clear. Apparently the current high ranking officials placed one of his daughters on the throne, but due to her young age they were now controlling the country. Their first official act was to request an end to their war and peacefully reconcile with the Slane Theocracy. This attempt to improve their relationship wasn't well-received by everyone. That was the topic of their current discussion. The first one to speak was Cardinal Raymond, in his function as commander of the six scriptures and head of their intelligence he was in possession of these information first. After he was done briefing all the other people in the room, a heated debate had started. Everyone was shouting over everyone else and no civilized discussion was possible. It took Raymond almost twenty minutes to calm everyone down to a point, that a productive exchange of words was possible. With the slightly patronizing tone of a father who just calmed down his quarreling children he said.

"Now that everyone had time to think about it, who wants to speak first?"

The first one to jump at that offer was Ginedine Delan Guelfi, the cardinal of water.

"According to the Intel we received from our spies, the Elven Kingdom has been in decline for several decades now. After the king ignored that fact for so long, the generals and nobles were facing this despair on a daily basis. It is very likely that they saw no other option but to replace the king. A coup d'état hasn´t happened before because the kings' existence is closely tied to their religion and moral of their population. The fact that they did it now means, that this child also bears the mark of the royal family, which hasn't appeared ever since that incident."

The incident he was referring to was the abduction, rape and impregnation of a member of the black scripture with the following birth of Zesshi Zetsumei.

"They took this opportunity and put a puppet on the throne. That might turn out to be a blessing."

Now Dominic Ihre Partouche, the cardinal of wind spoke.

"Are you suggesting that we should accept their request? Have you finally gone senile?"

Raymond reprimanded him.

"I ask you to keep this civil."

Dominic took a deep breath before he continued.

"What I was trying to say is, it would be foolish to blindly accept their proposal. It could very well be a scheme to make us lower our guard down so they can deal us a heavy blow. Elves are a very cunning race and are more than eager to use such underhanded tactics."

Berenice Nagua Santini, the cardinal of fire responded.

"It would indeed be dangerous to blindly accept, but in the case that they are sincere, we have to carefully consider our actions. Our current situation is not so favorable as to allow us to waste resources we need in other places on them."

Dominic said annoyed.

"Do I have to remind you that vast parts of our economy are dependent on elven slaves? Not only agriculture, but also tax revenue from the slave trade. And what about the slaves our people own? If we really reconsider our position with the Elven Kingdom, we would also have to consider the release of them. Do you think our people would willingly agree to let them go, after they paid much money on them?"

Ginedine said.

"That could be very troublesome. We invested a lot of time and energy into making the common folk support the war. The hatred towards elves is deeply rooted in society. Suddenly reversing our view and policy towards them, could lead to major dissatisfaction. It might even lead to the formation of oppositions and radical groups. Maximillian, what does the law say?"

Maximilian Oreio Lagier who, surrounded by books and wearing glasses, looked like an old university professor said after looking over a couple of pages.

"It wouldn't be unprecedented for the government to seize private property, but the scale would be impossible to justify."

Yvon Jasna Dracrowa, who had been silent so far, said.

"I guess our options are very limited. The most practical approach would be to put that conflict on hold for the time being. The matter regarding the slaves should be solved on an individual base. There should be plenty we can send back without creating problems. If only to show our goodwill. The rest has to be topic of further debates and negotiations."

Maximilian then asked.

"Are you suggesting we demand some kind of ransom for them?"

"That way we could at least justify our decision to our people."

Dominic said.

"That's a real surprise coming from you. Weren't you the one that was in favor of expanding our slave-trade?"

"That was under the assumption that we would fight the Elven Kingdom to the bitter end and ultimately conquer that nation. Now our situation has changed significantly."

"You talk like it is already decided. I for my part am still against it. They are damnable traitors and deserve divine punishment."

Now it was Berenices' Turn again. She said in a calm voice.

"But that shouldn't be the crucial point, right? The question is, whether we can afford to keep on fighting them or not."

She looked at the highest military commander, who was also in the room.

"I would say that depends on the situation."

"Please, enlighten us."

He cleared his throat before he continued.

"From all the intelligence we were able to gather so far, the Sorcerer Kingdom can deploy several armies of varying quality. In the best case he sends hordes of lowly undead, like skeletons and zombies, maybe with some Lichs and Skeleton Knights mixed in. Depending on the circumstances, we should be able to deal with them with our normal army."

"Please elaborate."

"A normal horde of lowly undead would be no threat at all. They would wander aimlessly and attack uncoordinated. We could get rid of them with minimal casualties. If they are commanded by the before mentioned higher undead, we would still emerge victorious, albeit with many deaths on our side. If they attack during winter, things could get complicated. Our troops would be troubled by the harsh conditions, while the enemy is unaffected by them. Supply routes would slow down and we could very quickly sustain substantial damage. The next scenario looks much darker. If the Sorcerer Kingdom sends the army of Death Knights and Soul Eaters, our army would do little more than delay the enemy. Given that, without magical protection, we wouldn't even be able to get close to the Soul Eaters without dying and that a normal soldier is barely able to scratch a Death Knight, we would stand no chance. In that case we would have to deploy the scriptures. With enough support from the regular army, we should be able to attain victory. But our country would be severely damaged and we would need maybe decades to recover. But all of that is pointless in the worst case."

"Are you alluding on the situation with Thousand Miles Astrologer?"

He quietly nodded.

"We still don't know what she saw since she refused to talk about it and the reports we received from spies in the kingdom are very vague. The facts are that the Sorcerer King used a fiendish spell to sacrifice tens of thousands of lives and conjured terrible monsters. I have no idea how to deal with them or what they even are. From an informant in the empire we know that the Sorcerer King should be unable to use that spell right now, but the Sorcerer King himself remains the one unknown factor. I can't even begin to imagine the outcome if he were to step on the battlefield."

"I see."

"But for any of that to matter, we would have to devout all our resources on the Sorcerer Kingdom, not the Elven Kingdom."

Dominic grumbled something under his breath, then he spoke up.

"We don't have to be afraid of a damn undead. The six gods will protect us."

Raymond responded.

"The difference between being afraid and being careful of someone is just as big as the difference between being brave and reckless. I agree that we should take care of the elves, but for the time being we should focus our energy on the bigger threat."

"I am sure it is a trap."

Yvon said.

"It is definitely a possibility. Therefore I would like to make a proposal."

Everyone present looked at him.

"We should agree ta a temporary ceasefire. Then we will demand thorough negotiations, not only with the high officials, but also with the new queen. If it is a trap, her presence will greatly put them at risk as well. And in the case they try to trick us, we will have an immediate way to retaliate."

Raymond then said.

"The question is, how Zesshi will react."

Berenice asked.

"She doesn't know yet?"

Raymond shook his head.

"No. I wanted to make sure we have a plan already laid out. If we agree to have this meeting with the queen, I want her to come along."

"Do you think that that is such a good idea? You know how she feels towards her father. Seeing her half-sister might make things complicated. Besides that, making calm and rational moves during a negotiation might be too much to ask."

"I know, but what else can we do? As soon as she knows, she will barely be able to hold back. And is anyone confident he can hold her back?"

Knowing what she was capable of, nobody present could say that. Yvon then asked.

"That aside, what would happen if that child was suddenly unavailable to the Elven Kingdom?"

Ginedine responded.

"Are you suggesting that we get rid of her? Forming an alliance with the preconceived intent to betray the other party is a very despicable act."

Yvon humbly lowered his head, but wearing a smug smile.

"It seems like my words weren't very well chosen. Nothing like that. But imagine how that little girl must feel. With an abusive father like that, I am sure she would be. delighted to meet a big sister that knows what she has been through."

"So you are saying that Zesshi might be able to influence her in a favorable way?"

"Precisely."

Just as everyone was wondering if that was possible, Raymond sighed.

"I think you are greatly overestimating her. I don't think she cares for her brothers and sister, of whom they are many. The only thing she is interested in is fighting strong opponents and I don't think I have to mention her other, rather special interest."

Everyone sighed and looked like they know exactly what Raymond was talking about. Although nobody ever tried to keep it a secret, they sometimes wished she wouldn't bring it up by herself. The only reason she wished to fight strong opponents was to find a suitable partner to mate. It might sound a bit derogative, but that was essentially it. She swore to bear the child of the man who defeated her. Whether he was friend or foe, human or monster. It didn't matter if she liked him, let alone held an affection or even love. According to her, he could disappear as soon as she was pregnant. She wasn't looking for love or companionship. She was so obsessed, she personally challenged and beat up every man that entered the Black Scripture. As soon as she beat them, she felt only disinterest towards them. Secretly some of the cardinals hoped that she would bear some children, if only to secure the bloodline of God-kin. Most God-Kin were pressed to leave as much offspring as possible, even going so far as to give them special privileges, like polygamy that was usually outlawed in the Slane Theocracy. But that didn't mean they were allowed to have children with whomever they wanted. All their potential partners were carefully selected from other bloodlines that originated from their gods, to increase the chance of one of the children awakening special powers. But so far Zesshi had rejected all the men she were presented. Among the cardinals, some were worrying that she would stay childless until she was too old to bear children, effectively ending her bloodline. As she was her mothers' only child, that was troubling for them. If she really would be useful in influencing the young girl that was put on the throne was highly questionable, but not impossible. Now Dominic spoke up again.

"Aren't we making things more complicated than they need to be?"

"What do you mean?"

"Simple. We kill the girl and Zesshi will become the queen. That way we won't have to accept their attitudes and have the elves pretty much under control. And she will finally be of use."

"I don't think they would ever accept that."

"That's irrelevant. Most of these primitives are eager to follow whomever they imagine to be blessed by their spirits. Worst case their country will split and they will be occupied in a civil war, best case they submit to us. We win either way."

Raymond responded.

"That's a terrible idea. At least shortsighted. Killing their queen will only lead to war."

"You give this long-eared freaks too much of a credit."

Dominics' ideas and positions got increasingly extreme over the last two years. As a farmer member of the demi-human extermination unit known as the Sunlight Scripture, he always held radical opinions towards every non-human being. While some cardinals, Raymond was one of them, tended to look at them in a more pragmatic way, he always advocated for their total annihilation. He belonged to a, even for Theocracy standards, fanatical faction. The elves were no exception to that. Even though most scholars classified elves and dwarves as humanoid, the same category humans also belonged to, Dominic scoffed at these ideas and often ridiculed them. For him elves were little more than beasts that needed to be exterminated. Half-elves, children between humans and elves were equally bad. He referred to them as Blutschande. He only barely tolerated Zesshis' existence, because she belonged to the bloodline of one of their gods. In his opinion, even allowing them to live as slaves was very generous. Most of the cardinals tolerated him, because he always diligently served the country, but in recent times he got more and more extreme. The destruction of his former scripture most probably triggered his change. Roughly two years ago the Sunlight Scripture was tasked with killing Gazef Stronoff, the strongest warrior in the Re-Estize Kingdom. The goal was to weaken the kingdom and allow the empire to conquer it. Tasks like these were usually handled by the Holocaust Scripture, the special assassination unit of the Theocracy. At that time Dominic pleaded for the Sunlight Scripture to be dispatched. A decision he later regretted, because they never returned. A couple of the common soldiers supporting the Sunlight Scripture during their mission returned and reported. They had attacked several villages and let a few survivors escape, in order to draw out the warrior captain Gazef Stronoff. The theocracy had conspired with some nobles beforehand, to make sure that he would be ordered to go without his best equipment, to further weaken him. While they were busy raiding the sixth village, they had been attacked by a magic caster who called himself Ainz Ooal Gown. He made sure to make his name known to them. The soldiers escaped, but the Sunlight Scripture, who was oblivious of that incident, cornered the warrior captain in said village. After that, all contact was lost and nobody ever heard from them again. It was obvious that they were killed by the magic caster, who later turned out to be an undead and founded the Sorcerer Kingdom. Because it was his goal to allow his former scripture to earn some achievements, Dominic was at least partly to blame for the loss of the complete Sunlight Scripture. Ginedine then said.

"It seems like we have gone a little bit off-topic. If I remember correctly, we were debating whether we should agree to open the dialogue with the elves."

Yvon said.

"We should at least listen to what they have to say. It can't hurt to collect information and know our options. But I would like for the queen to attend. Meeting her and assessing her character might be crucial."

Everyone seemed to nod in agreement. Only Dominic voiced opposition.

"I can't believe you are actually considering it."

"It's not like we are happy about it,"

said Berenice

"but we hardly have a choice. If we want to emerge victorious, we have to preserve our strength and use it wisely."

"All that because you are afraid of that damnable monster."

"A damnable monster that exceeds in strength and intelligence I might add."

That was what frustrated Raymond the most. Most monsters could be beaten by outwitting them, but that was not the case this time. Raymond knew that the Theocracy wouldn't get out of this unscathed. But if that was all, he would gladly accept that. The one thing that kept nagging all the cardinals' minds, the thing none of them would say out loud and only few even dared to think. The disturbing similarity between the Sorcerer King and Shurshana. His magic, that could only be magic of the eleventh tier, the magic of the six great gods they worshiped, fit very well with the reports from the era of the gods. Not for a moment did Raymond think that Ainz Ooal Gown could be Shurshana, but with increasing frequency he caught himself thinking that he might be from the same realm. Did he know the gods personally? How much could they learn about their gods from one similar to them? But first and foremost: Did they stand a chance against a godlike being?


	9. Chapter 3 Calm Before The Storm Part 1

While crossing the territory of the former Re-Estize Kingdom, Geralt felt very uncomfortable. Granted that he had little experience with living in farming villages, he had the feeling that many of them were very underpopulated, Most of the population must have fled their homes as a result of the last war with the Sorcerer Kingdom. He knew that the common folk had probably little understanding for the overall events that led to the Sorcerer Kingdom conquering them. All they knew was that their new ruler was an undead that defeated their army. He couldn't blame them for their fear, but deep down he wished for them to understand. To understand that his majesty was a wise and just ruler. During the whole journey, he was in deep contemplation. Before Geralt realized it, Kaer Morhen was already in sight. Usually that name only belonged to the fortress of the Witcher guild, but for convenience he decided to call the newly built town by the same name. Giving and remembering a new name was an annoyance, so he used the privileges he had as the native guardian of this area and gave the new town its' name. He dismounted and led his horse by the reigns. On the first glance he could already tell that construction work was almost over. The town looked like a proper trading paint. The people walking in the streets and operating carts, stores and workshops must have doubled since he left. A warm feeling of satisfaction filled Geralts' heart. Many of the people seemed to recognize him. Not that that was difficult in any way, shape or form. A young man with white hair and yellow-glowing eyes stuck out. He felt slight discomfort as some of the passersby bowed politely. He had to remember to talk this over with the mayor, as soon as there was one. A delicious smell coming from the tavern tickled his nose and for a moment he was tempted to stay for the meal, but he decided that he had delayed his return for long enough. He had more than enough time to eat once he checked on everyone and softened the lock-down. Surely his apprentices would be grateful. The fortress that was now also serving as a school made up the center of the town. When the dwarves showed him the first draft of the new town, he made sure there were no buildings too close to it, to prevent people from getting in unnoticed. It was not like he distrusted the people living here, he was simply trying to maintain the safety of his home. Now that the dense forest around Kaer Morhen was gone, he felt like it was a little bit too exposed. Therefore he wanted to have an unobstructed view to detect possible enemies. Apparently the dwarves were more than happy to oblige, saying that they understood the need to know ones home save. The only road that led to the fortress' main entrance was in plain view. From afar he could see the two people guarding the gate. They looked like they were slacking off, sitting on the ground and leaning against the wall. As soon as they could see him approaching, they hastily tried to straighten up and look like proper guards. Only when he got closer, they noticed that it was Geralt. A weird mixture of relieve and worry was written all over their faces. On the one hand they were glad that he finally returned. They would no longer be confined inside the school. On the other hand their very strict guild master saw them slacking off. Geralt was the first one to speak.

"Hello. Did something happen during my absence?"

One of the guards, a young man with blonde hair, said.

"N-no. Nothing out of the ordinary. But there have been a lot of people who want to speak with you."

"What kind of people?"

"Mostly adventurers and merchants."

The other guard, a woman in her twenties, added.

"Don't forget a bunch of weirdos. One who wouldn't show his face and a traveling bard in flashy clothes."

"Didn´t he leave after you slapped him?"

"What was I supposed to do? He tried to touch my butt and driveled something about inspiration. And no, unfortunately he didn´t leave. I saw him creepily winking at me just yesterday."

Geralt sighed exhausted.

"I will take care of them later. Now I have other things to do."

Then the young man asked carefully.

"Regarding the lock-down?"

Geralt smiled and responded.

"That's over. You can tell the others we go back to normal."

Just as he wanted to gleefully hurry inside and deliver the good news, Geralt grabbed his arm and said.

"When you go to town to celebrate, don't carry it too far. I don't want to scold you all after my long journey. I'm too tired for that. If you tell that to the others, I will let you slacking of slide. Got it?"

He frantically nodded. Soon after Geralt returned, most of the adventurers left the fortress. Surprisingly, a not so small number of them looked rather down. Some of their mates tried to cheer them up, saying things like ´The bill's on me, so cheer up'. Usually, Geralt would ask, but he didn't want to deal with that today. The only ones left in the yard were the two dwarves that overlooked the reconstruction. He quickly approached them.

"Good to see you back, lad. Did you do, whatever you had to do?"

"Yes, thank you. I was..."

As Geralt approached him, he noticed he stepped onto something. It was a piece of wood. Upon closer inspection, Geralt recognized it as a part of one of the wooden training dummies. It was scorched on one end. He picked it up and asked the dwarf.

"Something I should know?"

One of them had a smug smile and answered.

"It seems the young lady has been venting her anger on the puppets and some of the adventurers. She challenged many of the magic casters to test her abilities. Because she seems to be young and fragile, many of them underestimated her and gladly accepted her challenges. I must say, you have a good eye for women. When the pretty little redhead turned into a battle-born Valkyrie I could barely look away. It was a sight to behold. I heard that redheads are spirited, but that was something else."

"Yes, that sounds like her. Did somebody get hurt?"

"Nothing serious, but their pride was shattered. She spent most of her time at the library studying or training. It also rubbed off on the other students. They have been training very diligently ever since."

"That explains why so many of them looked so depressed. Or you would think. Most of them weren´t magic casters. What happened to them?"

The dwarves looked at each other, with their thoughts clearly written on their faces.

"You tell him."

Geralt obviously noticed it and crossed his arms over his chest.

"What is it?"

"Well..."

Started one of them, without saying anything else.

"You are really testing my patience."

"It's about the little girl."

Geralt got instantly nervous.

"Ziri? Did something happen to her?"

"Nonono. She is perfectly fine. It is just..."

"What? What is it? I swear, if you don't tell me soon I will go ballistic."

"Ok, ok. But where to start. Ah, I know. You remember the card game we introduced here?"

"The one where you have to place several troops in different lines and have to get more points than your opponent?"

"Exactly that. The girl watched us play and asked us, if we could teach her."

"So she learned a new game. What's the big deal?"

"It's not the game itself that is the problem."

"Don't force me to light up your beards to make you talk."

"She started playing with a couple of the students. For fun they bet a couple of copper coins against her candy."

Geralt seemed very annoyed.

"Really? They stepped so low as to gamble with a little child and cheat her of her candy? Seems like I have to have a talk with them."

"But that wasn't the case. She has been winning."

"Huh?"

Geralt made a dumbfounded noise he didn't know he was capable of.

"Yes. She won every single game. Some have tried to win their bets back, as a matter of pride, but it only got worse. After a while they started to take on loans to keep playing."

Geralt scratched his head, trying to figure out what to do. This situation was a total mess. Only a moment ago he was so angry he wanted to punish someone, but now he didn't know how to feel.

"So let me get this straight. A bunch of grown-ups have been gambling with a little girl of just six years and have been losing so hard that they are now so deep in the red they can't even afford a drink on their first free day in over a month?"

The dwarves said in unison.

"Yes."

Now Geralt knew how to feel. He couldn't remember having ever experienced something this funny. He couldn't help but laugh. It took him a minute to regain his composure.

"That is priceless. I can vividly imagine that."

He left and after the dwarves knew he couldn't hear them anymore, one of them said to the other.

"You aren't going to tell him that you also lost against her?"

"No."

"That you also increased the bet to make up for your losses?"

"No."

"That you ultimately promised her to build a ballista she saw on one of the cards?"

"Are you crazy? You saw how he reacted when we told him they played for money. Can you imagine what happens if he learns that I promised to build her a weapon?"

"I guess a burning beard will be the least of your problems."

"Exactly."

"So, what are you going to do about it?"

"I sincerely pray that she will forget about it. She is a child. I am sure she will soon lose interest and move on."

"I hope so for you."

When Geralt entered the main hall, he soon saw Triss and Ziri sitting on one of the tables. As soon as Ziri saw him she jumped up and ran towards him. Geralt lowered himself to Ziris' level and hugged her.

"Hey, Ziri. Have you been a good girl while I was away?"

"Yes. I had a lot I of fun. All the people here are super nice and fun. The dwarfs taught me a new game and everyone played with me."

"Yes, I have heard about that. Hey, I am very bad at that game, so maybe you can teach me. Then we can play together."

"That sounds like fun."

"Oh, by the way. I have something for you."

He pulled the stuffed animal out of his bag and gave it to Ziri.

"It's a little bird. I know it looks a bit old, but I hope you like it."

Ziris´ eyes grew wide and she took her present. She hold it held it high in the air and laughed happily as she danced around in joy, then she held it tight, like she was afraid somebody might take it away.

"It's sooooo cute. I really like it. Thank you."

Geralt gently patted her head, looking at her happily hugging her new toy. Now she grabbed Geralts' hand.

"Come. Big sister Triss has also missed you."

He smiled faintly.

"Is that so?"

She nodded.

"Mhm. Every night she said you better be alright or else she would get mad."

"Then we shouldn't keep her waiting."

Ziri hurried back to Triss pulling Geralt behind her.

"Triss, look. Geralt is back."

Triss looked gentle and calm, but somehow Geralt had a strange feeling. Despite looking as healthy as always, Geralt noticed some bags under her eyes.

"Yes, I see. Ziri, could you do me a favor? I'm sure he is hungry from his journey. Please go to the kitchen and bring him something to eat. Would you do that?"

"Of course."

She saluted like a cute little soldier and ran away. As soon as Ziri was out of sight, Triss slapped Geralt across the face.

"Have you any idea in how much trouble you have put me? Ziri was worried sick. What was I supposed to do if you hadn't returned? The poor little thing could barely sleep at all. That's the first time she has opened up to someone to that extend and you just left us alone. Have you even for one minute thought about that?"

Geralt held his cheek and smiled at her.

"In that case I have to make sure to properly apologize, right? I´m really fond of her and wouldn't like for her to be angry at me. It's also my first time I let somebody in my life, you know?"

Triss averted her face and said.

"As long as you have learned your lesson."

Geralt had to suppress a chuckle as he saw her ears turning slightly red.

"Before I forget, I have something for you."

Triss turned around.

"What do you mean? Like a gift?"

"Not like a gift. A gift."

She saw him holding an envelope in his hand.

"I hope you like it. I had a friend help me out with this."

"For me? But why? I didn´t ask you for anything."

Geralt scratched his head.

"No special reason. I simply felt like it. I don't know, maybe it is stupid. You can throw it away if you don't like it."

Triss hesitantly took the envelope and opened it. Very carefully she read the contents of the piece of paper. She looked like she coudn't really believe what she was reading. Suddenly she threw her arms around his neck. Surprised by this sudden attack, Geralt froze.

"Don't get any wrong ideas. It's just... I never got a present before. Especially not one this big. Thank you."

"I'm glad you like it. I wasn't sure if it was the right thing. I just thought about what you told me in that cave and that came to my mind."

Triss let go of him and wiped away a small tear.

"Its perfect."

After she calmed down, she intensely stared at Geralt.

"ls something ad wrong?"

He asked.

"Something is different."

Geralt tried ta avoid it.

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Nonono. Don't you dare lie to me. I took care of a whole pack of kids and I knew instantly when one of them did something stupid. Tell me. Did you do something unnecessarily dangerous?"

Of course he knew exactly what she meant. He knew that the second mutation he used to gain more strength could very much have killed him. It was a risk he was willing to take, because he had a reason to become stronger. For the first time he had people he wanted to protect. But he could hardly tell her "Yes, I used some untested drug to restructure my body." Therefore he tried to change the topic.

"And what about you? The dwarfs told me that Ziri has been playing a card game with the students and took all of their money. Why didn't you stop it?"

Now it was Triss´ turn to feel ashamed.

"It's their own fault for gambling. I watched carefully so I could step in in case they were bullying her. It's not my duty to protect some idiots from wasting all their money."

Next Geralt asked in a mocking way.

"But it was your duty to beat some of them up?"

Triss crossed her arms before her chest.

"Hey, that was only some friendly competition. How could I have anticipated that they are such sore losers about that? That wouldn't have happened had you trained them better."

"Hmm. Maybe you are right. None of them is at a level that would allow them to empty-handedly wrestle down a grizzly-mother."

She punched him at the shoulder.

"You are such an idiot."

She pouted with blown-up cheeks and Geralt laughed. After a couple of minutes Ziri returned. She was carrying a large plate, filled with grilled meat, vegetables and bread.

"I hope it tastes good. I helped the cook prepare it extra for you."

"In that case I am sure it will be fantastic."

Triss said.

"You better eat up. You will need your strength. From what I have heard you have a lot of work to do."

"What?"

"Yes. You have to meet with a lot of people. Many merchants and new applicants came while you were having fun traveling around. And a lot of documents and reports have piled up, waiting for you to look over them."

Geralt, trying to get around it, said.

"I had a really long and tiring trip. Can't this wait till tomorrow?"

"No can do. You have to be a good example for Ziri and your students. You don't want them to see you slack off and neglect their education, do you?"

She gently pushed Ziri in front of her and placed her hands on her shoulders, wearing a smile as fake as can be.

"B-but I don't have a place I can work in peace at."

"Don't worry about that. During the last month I took it upon myself to prepare a suitable office. I had the dwarfs and some of the students help me with it. Oh, and Ziri helped me decide for the furniture and decoration. Right, Ziri?"

Ziri, different from Triss, wore a gleeful and innocent smile.

"Mhm. We made sure Geralt-nii can work there without disturbance."

"That's the revenge for the grizzly-mother, right?"

"You can bet."

"Uuh. Why do you hate me this much?"

"Don't be stupid. I wouldn't be this strict with someone I hate."

Before Geralt could speak up and ask what she meant by that, she was already talking again.

"Ziri, how about we go and take a last look at his office, to make sure everything is alright?"

"Sure."

Then they left Geralt alone. He was slightly annoyed he could not avoid the boring office work, but on the other hand he felt a weird satisfaction. He felt like he came home for the first time in his life. After Ziri and Triss left the dining hall, Triss said.

"Go ahead, I forgot something. I will later catch up with you."

"OK."

Ziri ran down the hallway and Triss pulled out the letter once again. She read it carefully once more. It was a scholarship for the imperial magical academy, as well as a letter of recommendation for the Adventurer Guild of the Sorcerer Kingdom. She pressed the letter close to her chest and whispered.

"Thank you."

Hello everyone. As some of you might have noticed I occasionally switch between japanese and english forms of adress (Big sister, nii-san) I have a hard time deciding what sounds better and decide on a case to case basis. If you think I should stick with one or the other, feel free to send me a message.


	10. Chapter 3 Calm Before The Storm Part 2

It was well after noon when Geralt could not stall for more time. He had to face reality and take a look at the workload in front of him. He had been staring at the piles of documents in front of him for quite a while now, much too long to feel comfortable about. Especially after Triss entered and reminded him to do his work, he really had to start. He didn't really understand the papers. Reports on agricultural development, tax revenues, trading deficit, income and fix costs for maintenance. All of this was way over the head of someone who was only trained for combat for his whole life. After more than an hour his forehead was pressed on the table. He let out a deep sigh and thought loudly.

"Suddenly I feel even more respect for his majesty, to be able to deal with this kind of work on a massive scale. I wonder how he manages to do that."

For a moment he thought about hiring someone who could deal with this stuff for him, but in the end he decided it would be dishonest to let someone else do the hard work. He was sure he would get used to it after a while, but for now he had to take a break, or he would collapse. He was desperately looking for an excuse to leave the desk. His salvation came in the form of one of his students, informing him that the newcomers were now here to be seen. It was a welcome change to the dull desk-work. At first he was tempted to tell him to let them in, but then he felt hesitant. After all the effort he put into making the fortress safe, he couldn't simply open the gates and let strangers in without consideration. He needed a place to meet with them. Then he remembered that one of the watchtowers that had previously been used as an armory right outside the main gate, was currently empty and without a connection to the fortress.

"Have them wait in the watchtower. I will meet them there."

He quickly made a note to remind himself of asking the dwarfs to make the tower into a suitable waiting room. Later that day a delivery of building materials and other required things from the Sorcerer Kingdom was scheduled. He would ask whomever was delivering them to directly bring them to the tower. As Geralt stood before the door leading to the watchtower, he took a couple of deep breaths. He had ordered the student to bring the guests to the second level of the tower, so he could meet them on the first level one after the other. It was a tedious task, but one he had to do in order to justify the Sorcerer Kings´ goodwill towards him. He also had to maintain a certain level of authority and competence in order to be qualified to be a teacher. After he had steeled his mind, he entered the tower. The student he assigned as his temporary assistant asked.

"Which one would you like to see first?"

"First come, first serve. Send them in the order of their arrival."

The student nodded and went upstairs.

Meanwhile on the second level.

The members of Blue Rose had been asked to wait in this room, together with the others wishing to see the guild master. This room wasn't particularly small, but with the amount of people gathered here it felt very cramped. Roughly 30 people were here, waiting patiently for their turn. Most of them had come here alone, so almost nobody was talking. Therefore Lakyus and her friends had to be very quiet to not attract attention. They were checking on the last details of the story they wanted to tell Geralt, to convince him to let them stay inside the fortress. At the same time they closely observed the other people in the room. Approximately half of them were young adventurers. They probably hoped to be accepted as new students. Eight were dressed in more expensive clothing than the others, maybe merchants. From what Tia and Tina learned they, wanted to establish trading routes and worked for large trading companies operating in many countries. So far the Re-Estize Kingdom had been a very unpopular market, due to the flourishing corruption and the activities of the Eight Fingers. Expanding their business was a part of a merchants' life. But since this was only a border town, these merchants were probably only spares, sent to maintain the companies images. The important delegates would go directly to the capital, E-Rantel. Those merchants were the first to be called down. One after the other left the waiting room. In return the place became emptier every time. Whispering to each other, the roses continued their conversation. That was, until they were approached by a man in a rather bizarre outfit. Flashy clothes like those would be a tad too tacky for most nobles. Wearing bright red clothes with a crimson Feather on his hat he clearly wanted to stick out. In one hand he held a small bag, in the other a lute. Once he stood before Lakyus, he dropped down to one knee and said in an almost uncomfortable loud and striking way.

"My whole life I must have been blind, but now that my eyes caught sight of your beauty, it seems I am finally able to see. Would my dear fair maiden please allow this insignificant troubadour to share some time with her?"

Lakyus, visible flustered, instantly turned beet-red. The man in front of her seized the chance and took her hand.

"My my. Your appearance was already magnificent to begin with, but even flustered you outshine the most beautiful flower."

He gently kissed her hand. She was shocked to the point that she couldn't utter d single word. Tia, Tina and Gagaran were giggling. Evileye on the other hand shoved the man away.

"What do you think you are doing?"

"Dear miss, when I see a woman as lovely as her, I can't help but act. A heart is a fickle thing and demands action."

"More like your heart I am sure a different part of your body drives you."

Theatrical, the man feigned to be hurt.

"Aaaah. Your words sting in my heart with the delicious pleasure of a thousand thorns. Is that the reason your team is named Blue Roses?"

Lakyus, who regained her composure, said after carefully looking around her.

"You know who we are?"

"Well, of course. Who doesn't know the most famous adventure team fully composed of beautiful women? Truly, it would be a crime for a troubadour to not know of your heroic tales."

Slightly nervous, Lakyus asked.

"What do you want from us?"

"Oh, please excuse my rudeness. Your bewitching appearance made me forget to properly introduce myself."

The man took of his feathered cap and bowed extremely deep.

"Allow me to make another attempt to make your acquaintance. My name is Julian Alfred Pankratz."

Evileye asked.

"Pankratz? Where have I heard that name before?"

Tia reminded her.

"It's a former noble Family from the south that fell from glory quite a while ago."

Julian rose from his comical exaggerated bow and put his cap back on.

"As much as it hurts to admit, but yes. During my great-grandfathers' time our family belonged to the most influential in that area, but unfortunately my grandfather didn't inherit his talent and charisma. Today my family is only a shadow of its former glory, much like your own, Lady Aindra."

"What do you mean, Pankratz-san?"

"Oh, please. Pankratz-san was my father. Friends may call me Dandelion."

"Fine, Dandelion. What do you mean when you say my family fell from glory?"

Suddenly, Dandelions´ face got serious.

"l am deeply sorry If you didn't know. After the Sorcerer King conquered the Kingdom, most of its' nobles got executed or had to flee the country. Including the Aindra family."

Lakyus had a shocked expression and Gagaran tried to comfort her.

"Don't be so scared. Your father is a very smart man. I am sure he and your uncle managed to bring the family away. Oi. Can't you be a bit more sensible about this?"

"Yes. I am truly ashamed. That is not something you should learn like this. But coincidentally I know that at least a part of your Family left the country beforehand."

"And how did you manage to learn that?"

Gagaran asked in a skeptical voice.

"It is my calling to travel the lands and keep my ears open."

Tia interrupted.

"So you are sneaking around nobles and waiting for gossip?"

"How rude. I am an artist, not a spy. And I don't sneak around nobles. My inspiration comes from various different angles. I follow the march of great adventurers about to become legends and I befriend many important people. Where else can you get as much inspiration for great poetry like in real life? All the drama and conspiracies in the courts and homes of nobles, the hopes and dreams of adventurers, the tragedy in defeated armies are what brings the words to life. And because I know a lot of people in the right places, I also get to know a lot of useful and interesting things."

"Why should they let a fishy weirdo like you freely spy on their secrets?"

"First of all, most people would do quite a lot to appear in one of my works. I don't want to brag, but they are famous around certain circles. Second, after a while people stop paying attention to my presence. I don't help, I don't obstruct, I don't slow down the march. Just like a flea on a dogs´ tail."

Gagaran crossed her arms.

"I can't imagine they wouldn't mind the presence of an attention-seeker like you."

"What better way to deal with an attention-seeker than not paying him attention?"

Now he turned back to Lakyus.

"As an excuse for my carelessness, allow me to ease your worries. From what I heard your family managed to leave the country around a month ago. At least your younger brother, your mother and your aunt found shelter in the city Bebad of the City-State Alliance."

"I am grateful for your consideration."

"It's a pleasure to be of service."

Gagaran asked bluntly.

"Is there a special reason this oh-so-important artist is hanging around the backwater outskirts of the Sorcerer Kingdom?"

"Well, of course. The epic tales and scary stories of the Witchers were often the fuel for fantasies and rumors. After hearing that one of them was real, I couldn't help but travel here as fast as I could. I want to know the truth behind the myth."

Then somebody tapped on Dandelions' shoulder. It was the young man that was working as the Guild masters' assistant.

"Come on, It is your turn."

Dandelion again bowed exaggerated and said.

"Well then, my fair maidens. Our short time together must now come to an end. I will hope we will share a lot more of these encounters with each other, but for now our ways have to part."

He went downstairs while strumming on his lute. Now that he was gone, the members of Blue Rose noticed that they were the only ones left. They had been so distracted by their conversation with that irritating guy, that they didn't notice the room getting emptier by the minute.

First Floor.

After the first dozen of people, Geralt got really tired of this. The only thing that kept him going was the thought of being able to sleep in his own bed for the first time in over two months. Most of them were adventurers trying to become his students or merchants trying to establish connections to the Sorcerer Kingdom. Although he felt flattered, none of these things was his decision. He didn't pick the students, they were chosen by the Sorcerer Kingdoms' adventurer guild and later sent here. The merchants were equally displaced, since he had no influence on the trade and frankly speaking, didn't want to. He sighed, then asked his assistant.

"How many are left?"

"Seven, but five of them belong together, so three groups."

"Almost done. That was such a waste of time. OK, bring the next one."

The next person to enter the room was vastly different from the others. From what Geralt had been told he arrived here alone and kept his face hidden, but some of the adventurers had recognized him as an orc. Geralt greeted him friendly and then asked.

"Before we start, could I trouble you to show your face? I prefer talking face to face."

Reluctantly, he revealed himself. Geralt remained calm, as he already knew.

"Se, what brings you here? I know it's not a long way from the Council State, but guests have been rare."

"I am deeply sorry, but I have to insist that we treat our discussion confidential."

The orc, surprisingly polite, looked at Geralts' assistant. Geralt then said.

"Please wait outside. I will call you once we are done."

After the young man left, the orc continued.

"Thank you for your understanding. I´ve come on behalf of my liege. The great Dragon Lord Horaki Folter, the Emerald Dragon Lord wishes to seek an audience with his majesty the Sorcerer King, Ainz Ooal Gown. He wishes to discuss matters of an alliance."

That news totally overwhelmed Geralt. So far he had only talked to insignificant people about insignificant topics, but this was on a whole new level. Never would he have imagined ta be addressed with such an important topic. Desperately looking for a solution, he asked.

"But why did you come to me? Why didn't you go directly to E-Rantel?"

"My lord deemed a longer journey for not save, since many would seek to prevent such an alliance. Furthermore one of the points he wishes to discuss directly involves you, or better speaking, the Witcher Guild. It is about the old pact between the Witchers and the Dragon Lords."

Puzzled, Geralt answered.

"I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about."

The Orc nodded.

"As you wish. I am well aware of your circumstances and why you have to phrase it like that. I will not speak of this matter anymore. But know that the council is currently debating over attacking the Sorcerer Kingdom. Without my lords´ help the Sorcerer Kingdom will face great danger."

Now Geralt got nervous.

"What? Why should they plan to invade the kingdom? That makes absolutely no sense. We haven't even had any contacts with them yet."

"That also touches the topic of the old pact. Even though the Witchers have always honored their promise, some members of the council are more than willing to break theirs. It is fear that drives them to that decision."

Geralt didn't know what to do. The threat the Dragon Lords posed was significant. An all-out war between the Council State and The Sorcerer Kingdom would surely leave both nations in ruins. But to Geralt, the words this envoy spoke were hard to follow. If he had said that the Dragon Lords felt threatened by the sudden rise of a neighboring nation, plans to attack them would at least be understandable. But this pact he kept mentioning was not. Geralt had absolutely no idea what that was supposed to be. Was it something his late master didn't know of? Or did he held some secrets he didn't want to share with Geralt? Unable to come to a conclusion, Geralt said.

"I will pass on your inquiry to the Sorcerer King, but I don't know how he will react."

The orc bowed politely.

"I am not asking you for more. You have my gratitude."

"If you would please wait for a moment while I deal with the other people waiting. Then I will bring you to the fortress to wait for an answer."

The Orc left the tower and Geralt called for his assistant to come back in. Another deep sigh escaped Geralts´ mouth and then he asked the next visitor to come down. If all of what he had seen today wasn´t enough, the man in front of him was so bizarre Geralts´ mind blanked out for a moment. The flashy clothes he wore reminded him on the time he visited the kingdom on behalf of the Sorcerer King to meet the king. That alone should have been enough to annoy him, but surprisingly, Geralt felt that those kind of getup fitted the man more than anything else. The weird guy started his introduction.

"My name is Julian Alfred Pankratz, but please call me Dandelion."

"Nice to meet you, Dandelion. My name is Geralt. Unfortunately I don´t have a nickname to offer."

"Not from what I have heard from your students, but that is besides the point. Pleased to meet you, Geralt."

"What can I do for you?"

"I would be exhilarated to stick around you for a while and maybe listen to some stories of your adventures and the history of this place."

Geralt looked at him in disbelief.

"Why would you do that?"

"Because it could be exciting. Watching the rumored Witcher in action could lead to great inspiration for my works. You see, it is my profession to create art that lasts for ages and studying the sources of stories like that helps me a lot. Apart from that, I have always been fascinated by the bed-time stories my mother told me when I was a little child."

"From my experience these stories are meant to scare children."

Dandelion mischievously smiled.

"I guess that was her intention, but it backfired. Ever since I have been absorbed in ballads and myths. Besides, you are not scary at all. Another point I would like to correct. A poet may take some liberty in handling the source material, but it shouldn´t be inverted completely."

Geralt looked at him with a blank face, so Dandelion couldn´t really tell what he was thinking. Then Geralt asked with a straight and forward expression.

"Are you crazy?"

Dandelion honestly answered.

"A little bit."

He pinched his point and index-finger close together to clarify, wearing a big goofy smile.

Geralt stared at him.

"I think like you."

"I guess that would be the first time. Most find me irritating and annoying."

After he asked Dandelion to wait outside, it was finally time for the last group of people. As he saw the Blue Roses descend from the stairs to the second floor, Geralt got really confused.

"Well, I wouldn't say you are the last people I would have expected to come here, but there are not many more left. What brings you here?"

Evileye stepped forward.

"I was thinking about your invitation and decided to take you up on your offer."

"My offer?"

"To take a look at the Sorcerer Kingdom for myself and decide whether it is such a dangerous place or not."

Geralt scratched his head.

"I´m happy you are looking at it with an open mind, but I was talking about E-Rantel."

"Since the war with the kingdom was only about a couple of weeks ago, we could hardly set foot in the enemies´ capital."

"About that. I'm sorry for what happened to your country."

Gagaran interrupted them.

"You mean that your king invaded our country and slaughtered hundreds of thousands and executed nobility?"

Lakyus tried to calm her down and said.

"What my friend is trying to say in her unique way is that we still have some kind of a grudge against the Sorcerer King, so we were reluctant to come. But we had to see for ourselves how our fellow country-men are going to be treated."

"Still, why coming to this place?"

"The capital of a nation is often treated as a front and is more often than not the exception than the rule. We wanted to take a look at other places to see the conditions there. And it would be better to have at least one familiar face around."

"I guess that makes sense. But you could have been done with that a long time ago. Why were you waiting to meet me?"

Tina answered.

"It could have looked suspicious if we had left without greeting the local ruler. We didn't want to appear hostile."

"That's all? A lot of people come and go without saying anything at all. Not that I complain. Is there anything else?"

Now Lakyus spoke again.

"In fact, yes. When we talked to the people around here, it seemed like they overall had a positive impression of you. The adventurers seem to respect you and spoke highly of your training. We thought about staying for a couple of days and try to learn something new. You know, broaden our horizon."

Geralt was now completely confused.

"You mean, you want to enroll here?"

"I wouldn't go as far as that, but maybe we could stay for a short time and observe for ourselves."

Geralt seemed hesitant when Evileye said.

"Don't get us wrong. We still don't fully trust you or the Sorcerer King, but we are willing to reconsider our position. Depending on the situation we might even consider joining, like Momon did."

Geralt had mixed feelings about their proposal. On the one hand he felt like Lakyus and her friends were good people, worth trying to win them over for the Sorcerer King. On the other hand there was a small nagging voice in his head saying it was a stupid idea. But in the end he had to make a decision.

"I guess it can´t hurt to at least try. You can stay for a couple of days, but I have to ask you to stay in the areas designated for the students and don't go anywhere without telling me. If you can agree to these terms, I will allow it."

"Sounds good to us."

"In that case please follow me."

After they left the tower, Dandelion and the unknown orc they met on the second floor rejoined them. Together they slowly walked to the fortress. After entering, Geralt noticed a slight vibration of his medallion. He had already experienced this sensation a couple of times, so he knew what was coming.

"Please step back a bit, so you are not in the way."

Everyone obliged and in the next instant a thin and eternally dark oval appeared between the small group and Geralt. Evileye said.

"It's a teleportation spell. And of an extremely high level."

Because the gate obstructed their view, they couldn't see who just came out of the portal. Slightly worried, Lakyus asked.

"Do you think it's the Sorcerer King?"

Tina said.

"I don't think so. He is talking to somebody, but it seems a lot more casual. Maybe one of his servants."

Indeed. The conversation seemed respectful, but not to the point of how you would address a king. Then Lakyus asked again.

"Can you hear what he is talking about?"

Tina, who was trained as an assassin and had therefore honed her senses to the extreme, just like her sister, said.

"He is talking to a woman and asks her to redirect a delivery to another location. The woman just agreed. Seems like that woman is in the service of the Sorcerer King and works as his contact. Now he told her that a person wants to talk to him about something very important and asks if he should connect him with the Xenogloss."

"Xenogloss? What's that?"

"No idea, but that's what he said. She just said that she will ask beforehand."

Then the portal vanished without warning like it had appeared and gave view to the mysterious newcomer. All of them were shocked after seeing that familiar face. The woman wearing a weird kind of maid uniform just glared at them and screamed.

"YoU."

The only words Geralt managed to utter before she leapt towards them were.

"Oh sh..."

Sorry, this one took longer than expected. I tried to use Dandelion in this part, but I am really bad using such quirky characters, just like Pandoras Actor. I am not sure I will use him much in the future, but I at least wanted to try.


	11. Chapter 3 Calm Before The Storm Part 3

While passing the gate to the fortress, Geralt couldn't get rid of the uneasy feeling he had deep inside. Like he was forgetting something essential. But right now he didn't have the time to think about that. He had to focus on his current task. The Blue Roses were exceptional adventurers and Geralt would try his best to win them over for the Sorcerer King. Then there were the things the orc said. The thought of the Dragon Lords attacking the Sorcerer Kingdom was a big headache in and of itself, but according to what he just heard, it was possible that all of tat was, at least in some way, Geralts' fault. Even though he wasn't aware of anything he could have done to anger them, he felt responsible for drawing innocent into this mess. He glanced over his shoulder at the people following him. At least the bard seemed to be entertaining and a jolly fellow. Maybe he could lighten the mood. Then he got a sudden reaction from his medallion. Usually that meant danger, but he knew what was coming. It was a signal for an incoming portal. Under normal circumstances the Gate spell wouldn´t provoke a reaction beforehand, simply because it was much too advanced to be detected before it appeared. Fortunately the Sorcerer King agreed to make it easier to detect just for him. Geralt was really thankful for that. He turned around and said to the others.

"Please step back a bit, so you are not in the way."

Everybody obliged and took some distance. In the next instant a thin, oval shaped hole appeared in the air, right between him and the small group. The person coming out of the portal was a young woman, wearing a maid uniform. She was smaller than him and wore her hair in twin chignon. Although her face was pretty, it was unnaturally stiff. Geralt could immediately tell it had to be some kind of mask. She spoke in a pleasant voice.

"I am Entoma Vasilissa Zeta."

"Welcome, Entoma-san. Thank you for coming."

"There is no need to thank me. Lord Ainz tasked me with overseeing a delivery of some materials. Thank him instead."

"About that. Is it possible to redirect some of them? There is now the need to rebuild another place."

She nodded.

"Just tell me where and will do it."

"Thank you for that. Then there is another thing. Someone just came here who said he had some important information for the Sorcerer King. He said it could be crucial knowledge. Should I call his majesty with the Xenogloss?"

"Wait. I will ask."

She put her hand on her head and appeared to speak to herself, but Geralt knew she was talking to someone via the Message spell. Then the sheet-thin portal vanished and as Entoma wanted to take a look at who wanted to talk to her lord, she saw some familiar faces, Geralt noticed her tremble in rage. She almost screamed, but this time her voice sounded nothing like before. The pleasant and girlish voice was exchanged with an inhuman one, that was accompanied by unnatural clicking sounds.

"YoU."

With clear killing intent emanating from her whole body, she leapt towards the group.

"Oh sh..."

Geralt immediately jumped after her. He had absolutely no idea who caused hat sudden shift in her personality, but it had to be someone in the group he just led in the fortress. He had to make sure this situation didn't turn into a bloodbath. After a couple of steps he managed to catch up to her, blocking her way. He tried his best to calm her down.

"Aah, stop. Please wait. Wait just a second. I don't know what is going on, but can't we solve this peacefully?"

Now back to the girlish voice, but still enraged to an alarming degree, she said.

"Not with these maggots around."

His gaze followed her hand, looking who she was pointing at. The members of Blue Rose had drawn their weapons, ready to attack. Geralt got even more nervous.

"Hey, hey, ha. What do you think you are doing? Put your weapons away."

Gagaran yelled.

"Right after we have taken care of that thing."

Entoma responded while trying to get around Geralt.

"You sure can talk big. Without the small one you are nothing but a light snack after exercising."

Geralt was desperately trying to hold her back.

"Please wait. Think about it. His majesty invested a lot of time and effort into rebuilding this place. Would you really deliberately destroy it on the first day after it's finished?"

The thought that this place now basically belonged to her master seemed to make her hesitate for a moment. Geralt immediately seized the opportunity to address the adventurer group again.

"And you. I told you to put your weapons away. You promised you wouldn't cause trouble. If you can't do that than you have to leave. But if you leave there is no reason for me to old her back."

The team seemed hesitant.

"I´m not going to ask you again."

Lakyus stepped forward and said.

"If you can promise that she will behave?"

Geralt looked at Entoma and signaled her to follow him. After they were far enough from them he continued. She stared at him-with her motionless expression and said.

"Why are you protecting them? They are enemies of Ainz-sama and need to be destroyed."

"I don't know what happened between you and them and I can only imagine how angry you must be. I will not ask you what happened, but just think about it for a minute. I´m sure his majesty has still a use for them."

Entoma still blankly looked at him, but Geralt felt less anger than confusion. In all honesty, Geralt had absolutely no idea what to say to at least prevent the worst.

"I'm trying to say is that they clearly escaped the kingdom when it was occupied. Do you think they managed to escape from the Sorcerer Kings´ plan?"

"No. Ainz-samas' plans are perfect."

Glad his improvised argument seemed to be: effective, he continued.

"See? So there must be a reason he let them escape. Maybe they can still be of use for him."

"What use could they possibly have?"

"I don't know. Maybe he wants to use them in some way to widen his fame. They are widely known adventurers."

Entoma seemed to think for a moment.

"Look, all I´m trying to say is give them a chance to recognize the Sorcerer Kings´ greatness."

After a couple of seconds of almost grave silence Entoma said.

"What if they try to defy Ainz-samas´ will?"

Suddenly dead serious, Geralt responded.

"Don't worry about that. If they undertake even the slightest attempt of doing that, I will take care of them myself."

Seemingly satisfied with that explanation Entoma relaxed, causing Geralt to sigh exhausted.

"So everything is good?"

"For now."

Just as Entorma was about to turn around she said.

"In that case I want the small one with the mask. She is mine."

For a moment the blood-lust she emanated made him shudder.

"I will remember that."

Entoma remained in a corner of the open place as Geralt walked back to Lakyus and her teammates.

"We came to an agreement. Everything is fine now."

Gagaran bursted out.

"What do you mean with agreement? Have you any idea what kind of mon..."

Gagaran was interrupted by a death-glare Geralt threw at her.

"I hope you weren't about to say what I think you were. You wouldn't, right? As you know how I feel about that word and you wouldn't disrespect the rules of my home after all."

Evileye said.

"We are just worried if she will behave properly. The last time we saw her she ate the flesh of a human."

"No need to be concerned. That was when she was still under Jaldaboaths´ influence. His majesty assured me that she wouldn't attack innocent people. I admit I have mixed feelings when she would attack and eat criminals, but that is not for me to decide."

"So you know that, despite her appearance, she is not human?"

"Yes. Although I am not completely sure about what she is. I know that she is some kind of arachnid species, but definitely not an Arachne. Maybe a distant relative of them? One day I have to ask his majesty to let me study all the species under his rule."

"Why does it look like you are enjoying this?"

"Because I am. When else would I get the chance to learn that many new things?"

Evileye didn't seem to know what to respond.

"Anyway. I guess now that everyone has calmed down, we should get on. Later this evening I would like for you to come to the dining hall. I am sure my students are eager to meet you and there are a couple of other things we have to discuss. I don't have any spare rooms left for you to stay in, so you have to stay in the inn like before. But I will instruct the gatekeepers to let you in tomorrow."

Then he tried to leave, but was interrupted by Dandelion.

"That was truly magnificent. To think that during my first minute here I would already experience such a dramatic development. I guess it was the right choice to come here. Please allow me to stick around you for a while."

He kept following Geralt like a little duckling, catching up to him and putting his arm around his shoulder.

"And maybe you can introduce me to that cutie."

"I think she would eat you alive."

"Would be worth it."

After they were alone, Evileye said.

"Well, that is an unfortunate development. Who would have guessed that of all the minions the Sorcerer King has at his disposal he would sent one of the maids?"

Lakyus said.

"At least he seems to have her under control. We clashing with her would definitely make our mission fail. But now we have to be twofold as cautious."

Then Tia added.

"Not only that. We have to rethink our plan. Look."

She pointed at Entoma.

"She is constantly glaring at us and I don't think she is going to stop anytime soon. Could get hard to sneak away unnoticed."

"What do you propose?"

"We should split up for now and act as inconspicuous as possible. Then we will figure out whom of us she is paying the most attention, even though I can already guess. That person will keep her occupied."

Now Tina spoke.

"The rest will keep interacting with the rest of the people here and when we find an opportunity, either Tia or me will sneak away and look for that vault."

Everyone nodded in agreement. After Geralt managed to shake off Dandelion, he returned to his chamber, where Triss and Ziri were waiting for him. He almost fell in his chair and sighed.

"Huuugh. I think this day cost me years of my life."

Ziri asked in a worried voice.

"That's not good. Are you sick? Do you need medicine?"

Geralt smiled and shook his head.

"Don't worry. That just means that today was very tiring for me. Besides, a Witcher can live for a very long time. So I will be around for quite a while."

He patted her head, making Ziri giggle.

"That's great. I want to be with you two forever."

Triss, appearing annoyed by being ignored, said.

"What about your work? Are you finished or are you simply skipping your tasks?"

He gave a small laughter as a response.

"No. I have properly finished all of it. There were a lot of people I had to talk to, but now everything is done. Although the last ones gave a bit of a headache?"

"How so?"

"They are the adventurers from the Re-estize Kingdom I told you about."

"The Blue Roses? What are they doing here?"

"They said that they wanted to look at the conditions of the normal people in the Sorcerer Kingdom. I guess they were worried about how their countrymen are being treated, now that they are part of the Sorcerer Kingdom."

Triss looked at him in disbelief.

"Maybe they simply told you what you wanted to hear. I don't think they came here just for that. Something is not right."

"Look, I know we had our differences, but I think deep down they are good people and deserve a second chance."

Triss appeared not the least bit convinced, but decided to leave it be, for now. Geralt turned his attention to Ziri once again.

"By the way, there is something we need to talk about."

Later that evening, Lakyus and the rest of her team were sitting in the dining hall. Ever since Geralt had introduced them to the students, they had been surrounded by young, aspiring adventurers and had been asked about a million different things non-stop. They only stopped when Geralt entered the hall with a little child holding his hand. Evileye said.

"I guess that is the little child we have heard about. She seems to feel very uncomfortable."

Indeed, Ziri was fidgeting around, trying to-hide behind Geralt and was beet red. Geralts voice echoed through the room.

"Could you all please listen for a moment?"

All people present turned their attention towards them. Geralt patted Ziri on the shoulder. She said.

"I don't want to."

"What did we discuss?"

She took a deep breath and stepped forward. She bowed very stiff and said nervously.

"I am very sorry for being so mean to you. I didn't mean to bully you and t won't take any more of your money. I really want to apologize to you."

Lakyus didn't know what was going on, but the little girl was almost disturbingly adorable. For whatever reason some of the adventurers here looked like their pride has just been shattered to pieces and they were almost crying. A truly pitiful display. Geralt said to Ziri.

"See? That wasn't that hard, right?"

She nodded.

"Well, I think it's time for you to go to bed, It's already late."

Before he left the room he looked over his shoulder and said.

"Don't think I'm going to make her give the money back. It's your own fault, I just wanted to avoid her growing up to become a person that would gamble with a child."

With that devastating blow Geralt left. Back in his room he put Ziri to bed. Before he left, Ziri said.

"Wait."

"Yes?"

"I can't sleep unless you tell me a story."

Geralt scratched his head.

"Oh, but I don't know any interesting bed-time stories."

"Plaeeeeese."

Geralt thought for a moment, then sat down next to her.

"I don't know if it is a good story, but that is the one my master told me when I was about your age."

Ziri nodded eagerly.

"Once upon a time a group of powerful dragons fought against eight mighty warriors from another world

.

.

.

And finally this castle was built."

He was looking at Ziris' sleeping face, wearing a gentle smile. He silently sneaked out of the room. In the hallway he was approached by one of the dwarves.

"Ah, good thing I found you. Listen, there is one thing I forgot to tell you. The thing you asked us to build is finished. It was easier than expected."

"Really? That's perfect. Just what I needed."

When he went to the kingdom he stayed at the mansion of a woman working for the Sorcerer King. During his stay he discovered a very relaxing new experience. Hot baths. Immediately after returning he tasked the dwarves with building one for him, minus the lavish decoration. The room was filled with steam and he could barely see anything at all. After entering the bath he stopped to think for a moment.

(Looks exactly like I imagined it to be.)

In contrast to the bath he used in Hilmas' mansion, this one was basically only a big plain room, with an almost pool-sized bath in the middle. The water came from a complicated pipe-system and was heated with a magic item created by inscribing dwarven runes onto the faucet. Geralt didn't know this, but even royalty would be jealous of a system like this. Usually baths were heated with ordinary fires or expensive magical items, if they were heated at all. In both cases only the wealthiest or those who had connections to influential people could afford such luxury. As he was about to take of his armor, he heard a splashing sound. His body reacted on its own and he reached for his weapon.

"Who is there?"

A faint voice responded from behind the fog.

"It's me."

Geralt stepped closer and could see the upper half of Triss' face stick out from the water, the rest of her was well hidden by the water. Flustered he turned around.

"I´m sorry. I didn't know somebody was already in."

Shy like a little kid that was caught doing something forbidden Triss responded.

"I eavesdropped a conversation the dwarves had. They said that the bath was ready and needed testing."

"I´m sorry. I will come back later."

Before he could leave the room. Triss said.

"Wait."

Geralt stopped. Her voice skipping several pitches Triss continued.

"I don't think that is fair. This is your place after all, so... uhm... If you promise not to look, you can stay."

Her last words were accompanied by some bubbling noises, so one could assume she was sinking further into the water. But Geralt couldn't think about that right now. In fact, his brain went totally blank and he wasn't able to think at all. Without knowing how to react to that sudden change he could only say.

"OK."

With the absolute absence of sound, this scene could only be described as awkward. Geralt and Triss were sitting with their backs to each other, several meters apart, Intensely staring at the walls. Never would he have thought that his ability to control his heart-rate and blood flow would come in handy in a situation like this. Triss' face on the other hand was almost as red as her hair. In her mind she was almost scolding herself.

(Good work, Triss. You managed to make this situation much more uncomfortable for everyone. What's wrong with you? Why did you do that? You could have avoided this if you just kept quiet. What do you do now? Why isn't he saying anything? Ugh. Why didn't you think about that earlier. So stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Please, just say something. Anything?)

She could hear him clear his throat.

"So."

(Thank god.)

"Have you gotten used to living here?"

"Yes."

"And what about Ziri?"

"Yes."

"No problems with the beds?"

"No."

"OK."

(Aaaargh. Come on. He is at least trying to do something. Put some effort into it. You aren't usually that inept. OK. Here is what you are going to do. You will thank him for saving your life last time and for bringing you here. That is the least you can do. Nobody likes an ungrateful brat.)

Triss took a deep breath before opening her mouth, but the words coming out differed from what she intended.

"The water feels nice."

(Urgh. Fine. You know what? I´m out. If you want to make a fool out of yourself, be my guest.)

A couple more minutes passed until she found a new resolve to talk.

"Ziri looked happy with that new stuffed animal. She has been showing it to everyone. She was so excited, it was really adorable."

"Then I made the right choice. I wasn´t sure, but when I saw it I thought it might make her happy."

"I don't think it's the toy."

"Hmm?"

"She really adores you. She would have been happy, no matter what you gave her. If it had been a rock you had picked up on the way here, she would have been equally excited."

"I didn't think I would have left that deep of an impact."

"But you have. You have shown her kindness and patience from the moment you have met her. She has grown attached to you. I don't think she would leave you without a fight."

"Don't be like that. 'm sure she thinks of you in the same way. The way you have been taking care of her and the other children is admirable"

"Thank you."

The situation got a lot more relaxed, so Triss could think of another question that had plagued her mind.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"It's about the gift."

"Oh, I´m sorry. Was it not to your liking? I had a really hard time coming up with something. You can ignore it in that case."

"No, no. I really like it. Is just... I have no idea how I could ever repay you. If has been my dream to study magic at the academy since I have been a little child, but my family was neither influential nor wealthy. It wasn't something I could ever hope to achieve. I did my best studying on my own, but self-study can only bring you to a certain point. I was already prepared to give up on that and then you come around and simply give it to me."

"Don't worry about that. I wasn't giving it to you because I expected a reward or something."

"Then why did you do it?"

"I guess | just wanted to see you smile, just like Ziri."

"I get Ziri, but why me? I am nothing special. You are rich, strong and have the Sorcerer Kings´ favor. Surely you could find someone better."

"That's not true."

He interrupted her.

"You are being too hard on yourself. I think you are a wonderful and strong person."

Glad he couldn't see her, she got red once again.

"Why are you saying that?"

"You remember how we first met?"

"You mean how I yelled at you for trespassing? Yes. Why?"

"You weren't afraid of me. Most people that see me for the first time don't even try to look past my appearance and hate me. There is something in their eyes. Disgust, fear, hate. Even when they pretend to be friendly they just want me gone as fast as possible. I can count the people like you on one hand. You treated me like a normal person and that means a lot to me."

Suddenly he could feel movement in the water and when he turned around he saw Triss standing in front of him.

"You promised you wouldn't look."

After a long nights sleep, Ziri was woken up due to the squeaking sound of the door. Still half-asleep she rubbed her eyes and looked up.

"What are you doing, Triss-nee? Have you been away the whole night?"

Flustered and desperately looking for words, she answered.

"Ah, uhm, yes."

"Where?"

She scratched her cheek.

"Where? Ah, yes, vou see, I was... I´ve..."

Ziri looked at her with raising curiosity. Triss wasn't able to avoid her questicn, but she could hardly explain a little child what she had been doing.

"The bath. Yes. I tried the new bath and it was so relaxing i fell asleep there."

"Really?"

Triss nodded, as it was basically not a lie.

"It's not good to sleep in the water. What if something happens to you? You should bring someone to watch over you. Hmm? What's wrong. Why does your face keep getting redder?"

"Ah, it's nothing."

She tried to find a way to change the subject.

"Ooh, wow. Look what time it is. The morning training is about to start. Didn't you say you wanted to see Geralt train with the students?"

Ziri rushed to get dressed and devoured her breakfast. When they reached the training grounds, everyone was already busy. Some practiced with the wooden dummies, others were just returning from their daily routine in the Track, A few, six, were standing next to Geralt, holding practice weapons. Rather than standing next to him, they were surrounding him.

"What are they doing?"

"Probably practicing combat. Geralt shows them how to fight multiple opponents at once."

"Is Geralt-nii going to be alright?"

Triss smiled at the little girl and said.

"Do you think they stand a chance against him?"

"Not at all."

Ziris´ confidence might have come from her affection, but the reality proved her right. Despite the effort every single one of them put into their attacks, Geralt easily avoided, blocked or deflected every single one of them. Not once did they manage to hit him, After a while they were all laying on the ground, trying to catch their breath.

"Not bad. You have definitely improved. If you keep going like that, you might be able to hit me once or twice."

"Geralt-nii."

He saw Ziri running towards him.

"Please, can you teach me, too? I want to be as strong as you."

"Don't you think that that's a bit early? You are still a little to small for that."

"No, I´m not."

Puffing he cheeks she took one of the weapon one of the students had put on the ground. She had a hard time lifting it up, since it was a long-sword and almost as long as she was tall. Geralt laughed.

"OK, You win. I will teach you. But let's go and look for something else. I think this thing here might be a little cumbersome."

He left and the students were trying to cheer each other up.

"He says we are doing well, but isn't he hitting us harder than before? I'm sure I will be all black and blue by tomorrow."

"And he seemed to be in such a good mood this morning. Did one of you say something stupid again?"

Everyone denied that.

Sitting on the ground, hugging her legs, Triss watched over Ziri and Geralt playing while wearing a happy and gentle smile. Then out of the corner of her eye, she saw some people entering the training grounds. Some women she hadn't seen here before. From the way Geralt had described them, she could guess who they were. They were the adamantite adventurers Blue Rose that arrived here a couple of days ago. They were followed in some distance by an even more suspicious person. A young girl wearing some kind of maid uniform. She could guess that she was the Sorcerer Kings´ maid. She was apparently very angry at the adventurers. Geralt told her last night that he was barely able to keep her from attacking them. After a short discussion, they split up and started talking with the students and the dwarves. Triss decided to keep an eye on them, since she didn't trust them. After a while she noticed that the maid was exclusively following one particular member of the team. A person wearing a mask and a robe, shorter than Triss, to the point where she wondered if it was a child or a dwarf. Once the masked person got closer to Triss, she could hear a female voice.

"Tch, How long is she going to follow me?"

"You know, if you don't like it, you can leave."

Seeming to notice Triss for the first time, Evileye was surprised to see her. After a closer look, she said.

"You must be the Witchers' woman. I´ve heard your description in the town."

"I have a name. Triss."

"Hm."

Annoyed to be treated with such arrogance, Triss got up and got deliberately close to the smaller woman, forcing her to look up. Frustrated, Evileye clicked her tongue again, making Triss feeling satisfied.

"I´ve heard about you, too. You are the adventurers from the ex-kingdom of Re-estize. What are you doing here?"

"I´m surprised your boss hasn't told you. We are here to observe the treatment of the people in the Sorcerer Kingdom."

"Don't take me for a fool. He might be naive and always be looking for the good in the people he meets, but I know you are up to something. Whatever it is, stop it."

Evileye shrugged.

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

Triss didn't know why, but somehow this person triggered some serious aggression in her.

"Whatever. Just be grateful he has given you a second chance and you better not betray his trust."

Evileye sighed.

"Yes, yes, yes. I will keep it in mind. Why don't you go and keep playing happy family while you still can?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's obvious that you have fallen for the Witcher and I admit, it's cute and all, but you should better realize that you are much too different."

"I can't see your point."

"A human doesn't even live long enough to see a Witcher age, let alone grow old together. In 40-50 years you will be dead and he won't have really changed by then. Better get over it right now."

Triss didn't know this, but Evileye was speaking from experience. Therefore she was really hurt by her words.

"I don't know what you did to her..."

She pointed at Entoma

"... to make her hate you so much, but I can understand her."

With another disinterested shrug Evileye left, Entoma drew closer and her and Triss said in unison.

"Bitch"

After entering the fortress, Lakyus, Evileye, Gagaran, Tia and Tina held a last team-meeting. Lakyus said.

"Everyone knows what he has to do?"

Evileye said.

"I will keep the insect-maid busy. She will follow me and I will distract her."

Gagaran said.

"l will take a look if there is another way out of this castle."

Tia said.

"Tina and me will be sneaking into that building over there, after a couple of minutes we will separate and I will use my shadow clone to make it seem like we are still both here, while she is breaking into the vault."

For this day only they both wore the same ribbon for this plan to work.

"Good. I will try to distract Geralt. Let's go."

They split up and everyone played their respectable roles. Lakyus was slowly approaching Geralt, who had just finished beating some students and was now showing the little girl some short-swords and daggers. But before she managed to approach them, the bard Dandelion got in her way.

"My, my. What a coincidence we meet here again. Maybe you could give me a second of your time."

"Actually I´m quite busy right now, so please excuse me."

After she managed to get away from him, she saw that Geralt was nowhere to be seen, only the girl was holding a wooden dagger in her hands.

Tia and Tina proceeded as planned and split up as planned. Tina managed to get into the building without being seen and navigated towards the place where she assumed the vault to be. Luckily for her, nobody was currently inside and she found the door without trouble. The flimsy lock was absolutely no hindrance for an expert like her and was opened in a matter of minutes. The inside was actually quite impressive. Piles of gold and gems that would put even powerful nobles to shame filled the room. She began looking through some of the shelves on the wall. Frustrated she couldn´t find what she was looking for, she started searching for another hidden compartment. Just as she was knocking on the walls and floor, she could hear the door being slammed shut.

Lakyus met with her friends. Tia and her clone were still busy posing as two different person.

"I´m sorry, but I lost him. The poet stopped me and I couldn´t get away fast enough. I have no idea where he is now."

"That´s not good. We have to make sure before we proceed."

"Not necessary."

Geralt interrupted them. Startled everyone looked at him, even all the students and dwarves looked at him. Over his shoulder he was carrying the unconcious Tina. Nonchalantly he threw her towards Tia.

"Tia!"

She was covered in bruises, but nothing too severe. Gagaran used a potion to treat her, while Geralt asked.

"So, are you going to explain why she broke into my vault, or do you need a minute to think of a convenient lie?"

All the students showed clear signs of hostility and even the dwarves held their tools a little bit tighter than before. Lakyus said.

"It´s not what it looks like."

"Really? Because to me it looks like you were misusing my trust and goodwill to rob me."

Evileye said.

"Leave it be, Lakyus. No point in trying to cover it up."

Geralt sighed.

"You know, I can´t even be mad at you. Everybody kept telling me that it was a bad idea to give you a chance. Everybody knew it, only the stupid Witcher couldn´t see it. Go on. You can laugh. The joke is on me."

Next he raised his voice and addressed Entoma.

"I´m sorry about what happened yesterday. You were right, I was wrong."

Entoma was immediately blocking the gate.

Nervous of this situation, Gagaran said.

"That´s not good. The insect-thing is between us and the gate and on the other side is the Witcher. If we try to run we will be attacked from behind."

Geralt.

"As I see it, you have two ways of dealing with this situation. Drop your weapons and surrender. If you let yourself be restrained peacefully, I will promise you will be treated with the most kindness possible. Please don´t choose the other way."

Geralt grabbed the hilt of his sword, waiting for their response.

Lakyus said.

"What are we going to do?"

Evileye answered.

"I will create an opening, then we will run for it. Fighting them all together is suicide."

Everyone agreed.

Evileye turned around, facing Entoma.

"Vermin Bane"

Entoma, remembering that spell, tried to avoid it and covered her face.

"Now."

They tried to reach the gate, but before they reached it, Lakyus pulled Evileye back, preventing her from being hit by Entomas´ Blade Bug.

"But... how?"

Seemingly as bewildered as Evileye to the absolute lack of effect, Entoma took a closer look at herself.

"Quen."

Lakyus saw Geralts right hand pointing at Entoma.

"So that´s your choice."

Ok everyone. Thanks for your patience. | know the last chapters have been kind of slow, but that's it with the character development for a while. Next comes what many of you have been looking forward to. Some serious ass-kicking.


	12. Chapter 4 Wolven Storm Part 1

During this tumult, Ziri ran up to Triss and asked.

"Triss-nee? What is going on? Why is Geralt-nii angry at them?"

Triss answered while putting the little girl behind her.

"They have done some bad things and Geralt is angry because they broke a promise they made with him. Now he has to punish them."

With their backs towards each other in a circular formation, the members of Blue Rose tried to properly assess the situation.

"That didn't go as planned."

Said Tia. Lakyus responded.

"No, not really."

Gagaran asked.

"So, what are we gonna do?"

Evileye responded.

"We have no other choice but to try and escape. In here we are like sitting ducks."

Lakyus asked her.

"Evileye, what about your Teleportation magic?"

She shook her head.

"No. I have already tried, but something is messing with my spells. It was just like the time Jaldabaoth kept me from teleporting. I guess the Sorcerer King must have done something to this place."

"Is there no way?"

"Maybe if we could get outside I could do something. If we get far enough away from the source of the interference, I can teleport us, but..."

Lakyus finished her sentence.

"But running away while being chased by two exceptional opponents will be dangerous. Losses would be unavoidable."

"Exactly."

"I don't think they are going to let us off easily."

Lakyus nodded.

"That Demon-maid in front of us and the Witcher behind us. If they try a pincer-attack we are done for. The only good thing is that they are not used to fighting together, so coordinating will be difficult for them. Gagaran, last time you were able to keep up with him up to a certain point. I will leave it to you, Tia and Tina. Evileye and I will take care of the maid. If we manage to create a gap, we will escape. Be careful and wait for my signal."

Gagaran grinned.

"Got it. I just have to take him out. Last time his sneaky tactics surprised me, but this time I am prepared."

Gagaran responded while pounding her chest with her fist. Tia and Tina nodded.

"Leave it to us. We will make sure she doesn't get herself killed."

Suddenly Evileye said.

"Be careful. I don't know how, but he managed to protect that insect-thing from my spell. He seems to be a lot stronger than last time."

Gagaran, Tia and Tina slowly walked towards Geralt, who didn't seem nervous at all. He patiently waited for the three of them to arrive before him. Immediately, Tia and Tina spread out to either side, while Gagaran would face him head on. Gagaran tried to focus his attention on her.

"Oi. Are you sure you want to fight us alone? Maybe you should ask that monster for help, or maybe a couple of your students?"

Some of the students seemed eager to fight, but Geralts' hard voice instantaneously put them on halt.

"Don't. You are no match for them. You would only be in my way. Stay where you are and only interfere when one of them tries to run away."

Gagaran clicked her tongue after her provocation didn't work. Gagaran responded very coldly.

"Don't worry. I am more than enough for you."

He drew his sword. Gagaran wasn't sure, but she could have sworn the magical glow had been weaker the last time. They stared at each other for a long time, then, like reacting to an inaudible signal, Geralt sprung forward like an arrow, his sword aiming at his opponents' throat. Gagaran was surprised, as he didn't fight that aggressively the last time and barely managed to block the attack with the handle of her weapon. Just as she was about to rearrange her posture, the blade was already coming at her again. This time by a backhanded strike from her left side. She had to step back to evade it, but couldn't avoid a cut on her cheek. These first attacks only lasted for three seconds, but Gagaran was already well aware that this fight would be different. Back then, his goal was to outlast her. Not this time. Back then, he was more passive, waiting for a good opportunity. Not this time. Back then, Gagaran was superior in terms of raw strength. Not this time. Now Geralt radiated clear hostility, was pressing her back again and again and was aiming for fatal attacks. As Gagaran noticed Tia and Tina approaching him from his blind spot, she also stepped forward to attack. Thinking that this pincer attack would work, she prepared a martial art.

"Smash"

But suddenly, Geralt jumped back a few feet and the Twins daggers missed their target. Geralt raised his hand at the now close together assassins.

"Aard"

He unleashed a powerful shockwave. The twins weren't able to get away in time, but managed to raise their arms to cover their heads. Despite him not being direct next to them, Geralts´ spell was strong enough to send them flying. Gagaran, who was a little further away could withstand the shockwave with her powerful build and then caught her teammates.

"Oi. You alright?"

"Yes, but that was a pretty strong attack. Had he been any closer our bones would have been broken under that impact."

"Evileye was right. He is a lot stronger than last time."

Geralt raised his voice.

"Your lesson for today."

He was addressing his students.

"When fighting multiple opponents, you always have to be prepared for attacks from behind. You can't trust your eyes to cover for your backside, so you have to use other senses as well. Hearing is useful for most situations, but be aware that some enemies might use spells or items to erase sound. Then you have to rely on your sense of smell or notice slight differences in the flow of the air."

He motioned for the three to come at him again.

"Is he for real? He turns this into a lesson?"

Gagaran was getting really angry.

"In a way his dedication as a teacher is admirable."

Responded Tina. Now all three of them went after him at the same time. First Gagaran tried a sweeping attack with her hammer but Geralt quickly got out of her range. Then Tia and Tina tried to hit him with their daggers, but he either deflected them with his sword or evaded them. After all their effort, Geralt didn't even seem to be breaking a sweat. Now Geralt attacked back. He picked one of the orbs from his belt and threw it at Tia. She immediately countered with her skill.

"Immovable Adamantine Shield"

Expecting an explosion or a gas-cloud she prepared her defenses, but she was surprised when she was blinded by an incredibly bright flash of light. Geralt had used his stun grenade and went after the blinded Tia. His blade was aimed at her defenseless neck, but instead was stopped by something hard. Two Tinas had blocked his attack with their daggers.

"Shadow Clone"

Geralt held his sword in his right hand and was applying more pressure on them, so they had to put all of their strength and weight into stopping it. Her eyes still pinched, Tia tried to attack Geralt, but with his empty left hand he grabbed her wrist to stop het. No matter how hard she pulled, her hand wouldn't move a single inch. Then he suddenly yanked her towards him and slammed his knee in her abdomen. If not for her chainmail, this hit would surely have caused significant damage to her innards. The pain was still no laughing matter. Next he twisted her arm sideways and forced her to drop her weapon. Her face was twisted in pain as her bones gave of dangerous creaking noises. During this he accidentally lowered the pressure on Tina, who in return managed to break her sister free. The both of them quickly put some distance between them and Geralt. Leisurely, Geralt picked up the dagger and once again addressed the audience.

"Be careful of your opponents' weapons. Sometimes they apply poison or similar effects to them, so even a small scratch can be fatal."

While he was talking, Gagaran approached him from behind.

"Boulder Breaker."

Geralt ducked down and used Tias' dagger to hit her thigh before rolling away.

"And if you apply those effects on your blades, make sure it can't be used against vou."

Tia, whose eyesight had returned enough for the moment, treated Gagaran with an antidote, while Tina covered for them, in case Geralt would rush in to finish them off. But he instead threw the dagger away and waited for them to be done with their treatment.

"In case you didn't notice, there is another battle going on you should observe. A magic caster is involved, so the tactics used are different. For example: When a magic caster is preparing a spell, he is rather limited in his actions and if he or she takes more than a certain amount of damage, the spell will fail and the caster will lose a lot of mana."

Gagaran cursed him under her breath.

"Dammit. He is on a whole new level. I have no idea what he did in these few weeks, but he became really terrifying."

"And he still has enough leeway to teach his students in the process."

"And it's not even like he is underestimating us. He fights us with everything he has and pays close attention to every move we make."

Gagaran intertwined.

"That's not all. Look."

Carefully not to offer Geralt an opening to attack, the three of them tried to rethink their strategy. Gagaran showed them her hammer. Several markings were clearly visible.

"Is that from when his weapon struck yours?"

Gagaran nodded.

"My hammer is made of adamantite, the hardest known metal. Yet his sword is hard enough to slowly wear it down, while it still looks brand-new. I have no idea what it is made of, but his weapon is made of a superior material."

Geralt watched whispering something to each other, but not quietly enough for a Witcher not to pick up. He was well prepared for their next move. Tia, who had lost her primary weapon, reached behind her back, while Gagaran charged at Geralt. She tried to pin him down, but he easily evaded her blow, but when he tried to counter-attack, he had to raise his sword ta intercept incoming projectiles. The sound of several metallic objects hitting his sword filled the air. When he took a closer look, he found a couple of thin needles on the ground. They were too thin to pose a significant threat, so they were probably covered in poison. Just as he was about to step forward, he was stopped like something was holding him back.

"Immobility Binding Paralysis"

Tia had used her special skill to temporarily paralyze him.

"Dark Crossing"

Tina emerged from the shadow behind him, thrusting her blade at him. Everyone was happy their plan worked, until Geralt was suddenly able to move again.

"Quen"

He used is empty hand to capture her dagger. She was frustrated that their attack didn´t work as planned, but on the other hand it was good enough. The poison on her dagger would spread through the cut in his hand. Even if it wouldn´t be strong enough to kill him, it at least should be sufficient to weaken him. At least she thought that would happen. She noticed that her weapon wasn´t able to scratch his glove, although it was only made of leather and now it was Tina who was unable to move.

"Yrden."

Before she could realize what happened, a sudden pain spread from her abdomen through her whole body. Geralts' sword pierced her armor and ripped a big hole in her stomach. Geralt gave his sword a light twist before pulling it out, but before he could hit her again, Tia and Gagaran forced him to back away.

"Tina!"

Both of them screamed simultaneously. As soon as she was released from the paralysis, Tina collapsed and held her stomach in pain. A big puddle of blood was quickly forming around her.

"Wait, I will help you."

Gagaran said as she took off her pendant and held it against her teammate. This amulet contained the advanced healing spell "Middle Cure Wounds" and could be used only two times. This spell was strong enough to brink its target back from the brink of death, as long as it wasn't actually dead. The light of the spell enveloped Tina and the life-threatening injury vanished without a trace.

"Look out."

Tia shouted at the two of them. Geralt had managed to get around her and was already targeting them again. Gagaran was about to use her hammer to block his attack, when he suddenly moved much faster than she could follow.

"Gale Acceleration"

This martial art, that he hadn't used until now threw her off as he appeared next to her almost like teleporting.

"Wild Hunt"

This was the martial art Geralt had been working on for almost a year now. Ever since his training was finished, his late master encouraged him to develop his own variations, to not stick to old patterns. It was an attack that used the full speed of an assault and converted it into attack speed, greatly increasing the slashing power of his sword, but had the drawback in that in its current form could only be used for a horizontal attack. So it couldn't be used on enemies bigger or smaller than him with full efficiency. But since Gagaran was kneeling next to Tina, Geralt assumed it was the right moment to test it. During practice the sudden deceleration would often cause him to lose his balance, but since he underwent his second mutation, his physical abilities had sharply increased. He was sure that with his newfound abilities he would be able to pull it of. But in the end this imperfect new art was still that. Imperfect. His aim was slightly off and the distance to the target wasn't optimal, so he only hit the arm she had used to hold her weapon to protect herself. But he was greatly satisfied with the power of his new attack. His sword cut through her armor, the handle of her weapon, flesh and bone without any resistance. One clean cut without any blood sticking to his blade. Gagaran was shocked as she watched her hand drop to the floor. Only when a fountain of blood sprayed out of the stump she felt the intense pain. Tina, who was barely back on her feet, passed the amulet to her friend and tried to buy enough time for her to use it. She and Tia had a hard time keeping him occupied, but managed to delay his follow-up long enough. The shining light not only enveloped Gagaran, but also her severed forearm on the ground. Said forearm dissolved into particles of light and flew to her, reforming the arm she lost a couple of seconds ago. Tia and Tina regrouped with her and Tia asked

"Are you two able to keep going?"

Tina said.

"It still stings, but I think I can manage."

Gagaran said.

"My hand is still a little numb, but I´m good. But that was a hell of an attack. He cut my enchanted armor like a hot knife through butter. Good thing I had some priests prepare that amulet for me, just in case. But that thing is now done for."

Tia asked again.

"Are you sure you can hold on? You don't look good and your legs are shaking."

"I said I´m fine. Besides, what other choice do we have?"

"Surrender."

It was Geralts' voice that interrupted them.

"That's your choice. Surrender and I will guarantee your safety while you are here."

"As if we would do that. If you are tired, why don't you let us go? I can do this all day."

Gagaran tried to act tough and picked up her broken weapon.

"Try fooling somebody else. I can see you are at your limits. The healing spell might have cured your injuries, but it looks like it doesn't replenish lost blood. You look like you are about to throw up at any moment and can barely stand upright, let alone fight."

"So, any ideas?"

"Not really. And it seems Lakyus and Evileye have similar difficulties."

Tia said.

"I have one, but you won´t like it and honestly, neither do I. But now that it has come to this, I can´t think of anything else."

"Oi, if it is about running while you try to stall for time, forget it."

She shook her head.

"That´s not it. Wait for my signal, but I need something from you."

Tina passed her sister some small objects, when Geralt said.

"Fine. If that´s how you want to do that, so be it. I gave you more than enough opportunities to reflect on your actions and surrender. If you really wish to fight till the end, you leave me with no other way."

Tia threw the objects to the ground and a huge smokescreen covered her and the other two. Geralt carefully watched the cloud ad made sure not to miss a single detail. Then Gagaran rushed out of the smoke and made a last desperate attempt to attack. Geralt made short work of her. His sword struck her chest and a big cut appeared in her armor. Next he looked for the twins, but as the smoke slowly faded away, only Tina was left. Tia was nowhere to be seen. Geralt got slightly nervous as he couldn´t find her, then a scream made him shiver. When he turned around he saw Ziri on the ground, screaming and Tia standing behind Triss, holding a knife to her throat. Triss was also screaming, but more angry than scared.

"You damn bitch. What are you doing? Have you no shame? If you want me to fight you, just say so and I will gladly kick your ass."

"Be quiet. I´m sorry for this. I don´t want to hurt you."

She pressed her knife harder on her throat and Triss went quiet. The way the assassin twisted her arm behind her back made it impossible to use her magic. Geralt expression got hard and he glared at her.

"That was a mistake."

Now he turned his attention to Triss and asked.

"Do you trust me?"

She nodded faintly and Geralt clenched his fist.

"Axii."

Triss didn´t know why, but she felt like the assassins´ body went limb and her grip loosened. She immediately seized the opportunity and escaped. She grabbed Ziri and ran inside. Tia didn´t know what happened to her, but for a short moment it felt like she couldn´t think at all. The moment she regained her consciousness, she saw Geralts´ fist closing in on her face. The punch was strong enough to knock her off her feet and threw her against the wall, afterwards she fell on the ground. He slowy walked to where she landed and before she was able to get back on her feet, he grabbed her by the collar and threw her to her friends.

"Up till now I was ready to treat you with respect and dignity, although you have used every opportunity to show your disrespect. But now things are different. I don´t think you deserve respect. I will treat you as the lowly, traitorous worms that you are."

Geralt approached them with killing-intent dripping from every fiber of his body. In the next moment Evileye appeared behind the trio and said.

"Lakyus has a plan. Just do as I say."

Then darkness fell upon the whole yard.


	13. Chapter 4 Wolven Storm Part 2

Even though Lakyus and her team tried her best to not get caught, their plan had failed and they were now in the situation they had wanted to avoid as much as possible. They all knew beforehand that fighting an enemy on his home turf would be hugely disadvantageous, but they couldn´t avoid it anymore. Lakyus was secretly cursing herself. The moment one of Jaldabaoths´ demon maids had shown up, she should have aborted the mission. But because of her stubbornness they were now trapped inside this fortress, forced to fight not only the Witcher, but also the demon maid. If possible, she would have liked to solve this peacefully, but it was clear as day that the Witcher was not willing to forgive them and let them go. He had made it clear he would capture them under any means necessary. Unfortunately even Evileyes´ magic was unable to help them. She had explained that something was preventing her from using teleportation magic. Even in the most hopeless situations she could always trust on her friends' abilities and strengths, but she knew they were fighting with their backs to the wall. They had to do something and they had to do it fast. To ensure her teams´ safety she had to look for an escape out of this trap. But for that she needed time. Time none of her opponents was willing to give her. So the only countermeasure she could think of was to put up as much resistance as possible to buy enough time for them to think of something. Gagaran, Tia and Tina would face Geralt, while she and Evileye would have to deal with the insect maid. From what her friends had told her about the maid, she was confident she and Evileye would be able to take her on, but there was still the chance of something unforeseen to happen. Geralt blocking Evileyes´ initial attack for example. They had to prevent their enemies from teaming up as much as possible, but that also meant they wouldn´t be able to help each other out. She asked Evileye.

"How often can you use that spell?"

"Only two more times. I can still use some other spells, but they are not nearly as effective."

Lakyus pointed her trusted blade, the demonic sword Kilineiram, at Entoma.

"Better save it for the right moment. Then let´s do this."

Entoma raised her left hand and a bug with a hard-looking carapace appeared and clung to her.

"Shield Bug"

Now equipped with a shield and sword she looked even more sinister. An outsider would consider this team-up unfair. On the one side were two experienced adventurers and on the other side one rater frail-looking girl without noteworthy armor. But Evileye and Lakyus knew better. In fact her dress was as durable and protective as any high-class enchanted armor and despite her thin arms she had inhuman strength. Lakyus thought by herself.

(This won´t be easy. I can´t afford to take my eyes off of her, but I also have to keep the other battle in mind. In case they get in trouble we have to help them. I just hope that will be possible.)

Entoma was the first to attack. She jumped towards Evileye and tried to stab her with her sword bug. Evileye was able to easily evade, since she had already activated her Flight spell, hovering to the side.

"Crystal Dagger"

Evileye tried to counterattack, but the object her magic conjured shattered upon contact with the shield bug. The shield bug let out a scream similar to shards of glass being rubbed together, but was unharmed. Lakyus tried to attack, but Entoma didn´t even look at her when she deflected her attack with the sword bug. Lakyus knew that Entoma didn´t have any blind spots, but was nonetheless impressed by that ability. Entoma totally ignored Lakyus and immediately went after Evileye again, this time with her talismans.

"Lightning Bird Swarm Talisman"

A swarm of small, bird-shaped lightning bolts flew towards Evileye, who in return countered with magic of her own.

"Shard Buck Shots"

The roughly fist-sized lumps of crystal collided with the lightning-birds midair. A whole lot of crystal-particles rained on the ground. Before Lakyus could do anything to help, Evileye was already under attack from Entoma. Frustrated she was totally ignored, Lakyus clicked her tongue, but she used the opportunity to cast some buffs on herself.

"Lesser Strength, Haste, Lesser Dexterity"

She again rushed after Entoma who this time couldn´t simply ignore her. Lakyus used her now strengthened abilities to slowly push her back, to create an opening for Evileye to attack, but as one of her strikes missed due to Entoma jumping back, she had a bad feeling. A whole swarm of bugs crawled inside the sleeve of her uniform. Then she expelled them with tremendous force.

"Bullet Bug"

Dozens and dozens of small beetles the size of a finger were fired at her.

"Crystal Wall."

Evileye managed to just in time use a spell to protect them. The massive wall of clear blue crystal was barely able to hold of the barrage of impacts and crumbled as the last bullet hit.

"Thank you."

Lakyus said.

"Don´t mind it. Be careful, she might look like a close combatant, but she is far more dangerous on middle distances."

Lakyus nodded and closed the distance to Entoma once again. She used her sword to block the incoming blade bug and used another one of her spells.

"Holy Light"

Holy light was a spell to inflict damage to evil creatures. This was a divine light sent by the heavens and bright enough to hurt the eyes. Surely it would be effective against a man-eating monster like her, right? Then Entoma placed on of her talismans on Lakyus armor.

"Explosion Talisman"

The explosion knocked the air out of Lakyus´ lungs and hurled her through the air, but her armor protected her from anything worse. Lakyus was already back on her feet, but was aghast of this development. Entoma had taken some damage, but far less than she had expected.

"How can that be? That´s holy magic to damage evil beings. I knew it wouldn´t be enough to take her out, but it had almost no effect."

Evileye said.

"We don´t know the exact details how that holy magic works. It could be that the term evil is defined differently than how we imagine. But please leave this theological discussions for when we have safely escaped."

They saw Entoma pulling out another Talisman and prepared for another attack, but instead she put it on her own uniform.

"Strengthening Talisman"

"Oh no. We have to hurry before she is done powering up."

Shouted Evileye. Lakyus rushed in to attack her, but Entoma quickly jumped around her and targeted Evilley. Lakyus tried to follow her, but wasn´t fast enough to catch up.

"Sand Field: One"

Evileye conjured a patch of sand around Entoma and slowed her down. Usually this spell would apply the negative status effects Blind, Deaf and Paralysis, but Entomas´ resistances were pretty high and so this was all she could do. But it was enough for Lakyus to attack again.

"Floating Swords"

The swords hovering behind her back flew towards Entoma like arrows and were about to hit her from behind. But the swords were simply wiped away from four long spider-like legs suddenly emerging from her back. Once she rid of the sand slowing her down, Entoma stood on her spider legs. She looked now much more intimidating as she reached a height of almost three meters. With her strong and long legs her running speed had greatly increased and she slammed Lakyus aside like a bear, then she jumped at Evileye, throwing her to the ground. Each one of her spider legs now held on of Evileyes´ arms and legs and pinned it to the ground. Eviley laid spread out, like a butterfly that was nailed into a display case. Entoma put her hands around her throat and said.

"You damn bitch. Now I will pay you back for what you did to me the last time. You took my voice, so I will be taking yours now."

"Oh yeah? The last time you barely managed to run away with your tail between your legs. And if the Witcher hadn´t protected you from my spell, you would already be in a miserable state. Seems like you need to be saved a lot. No wonder that undead sent you here. Probably so you can´t mess up anything important."

Entoma screamed in her true, distorted voice.

"YoU wOrthLesS bAg of mEat. I wilL enjoY eAtINg yoUr fLesh anD HeaR yOuR sCReamS."

The Mask Bug covering her face fell to the ground and revealed her true, horrifying countenance. Her mandibles opened and closed and a viscous liquid dropped from her mouth. It hit the ground right next to her head and made a hissing sound and some steam rose up. It was a highly caustic acid many spiders could use to liquefy they prey to basically digest them outside of their body and then simply drink it up. Evileye struggled with all of her might to shake that monster off, but was not able to muster enough strength to do so.

"DoN´t mOve so mUCh or I wiLL acCideNtallY dEsTroy youR VocaL cOrds. I wiLl leAve theM foR laSt so I caN hEaR your deSpAir."

"Dark Energy Mega Impact"

A sudden wave of negative energy ram into Entoma and threw her off Evileye. Entoma crashed into a small shag and was covered in debris. Lakyus held out her hand to Evileye and helped her back on her feet.

"Thanks. That was a close one."

"Maybe you shouldn´t provoke her unnecessarily."

The pile of rubbish trembled and Entoma emerged from it. Her uniform was covered in dust, but apart from that she didn´t seem to have taken much damage.

"Even my swords´ dark energy is less effective than I thought."

"Yes, but at least it is doing something. How much more can you use it?"

"I don´t know. Two or three times max. I can´t loosen my grip on the darkness too much, or it will be hard to control."

"Has that something to do with the dark spirit inside the sword?"

Flustered, Lakyus´ face turned red.

"W-what? How do you know that?"

"Gagaran told us. She heard you one night talking to the sword."

Lakyus didn´t want to look at her friend and scratched her cheek.

"Ah. Yes. If I don´t hold back the darkness it will try to take over my body. But don´t worry, I´m still fine even if we continue fighting."

"Good. As soon as I get the chance to use my special spell, she will be severely weakened. I just need a good opportunity when she is not focused on me and moment to conjure."

"I will make sure you have that moment."

Lakyus tightened her grip on her huge sword and charged at Entoma. The buffs she had used on herself were still active, so this attack could be really dangerous. Due to the rubble on the ground, Entomas´ footing wasn´t that stable, so she couldn´t use her spider-legs to jump away. Therefore she decided to use her Sword Bug and Shield Bug to block the strike. As soon as Lakyus´ and her weapons connected, Lakyus released another wave of dark energy.

"Dark Energy Mega Impact"

This time Entoma was prepared. She let herself be knocked back to soften the impact and made a somersault mid-air and landed on her feet, but Lakyus wasn´t as lucky. Because she had to release the attack at point-blank, Lakyus didn´t get away unscathed and she was covered in some bruises. Entoma was looking for Evileye, but she was nowhere to be seen. She must have used and invisibility spell. That would have been good enough to fool a lot of enemies, but a tactic like that wouldn´t work on Entoma. Apart from Perfect Unkowable, no spell was good enough to hide ones present from her. Her insect-traits, especially her antennae, were sensitive enough to effectively locate even hidden and invisible targets.

"Razor Web"

She spit spider-silk with cutting properties in the direction she assumed Evileye to be. As soon as the web hit the target, it was sliced in small cubes, the right size to fit in the palm of her hand. Entoma got closer and could see the invisibility slowly fade, but something was off. She couldn´t smell any blood or the scent of freshly cut meat. She then saw that what she had hit was only a doll-shaped lump of earth. Then she could hear Evileyes´ voice coming from different directions.

"Did you really think I wouldn´t prepare for when we would meet again? I thoroughly looked into your abilities and came up with a way to fool your detection skills."

Entoma nervously looked around and could suddenly feel the presence of several more people around her.

"You are probably wondering what is going on, so let me enlighten you. I used magic to create several dolls around you and applied invisibility on them. So tell me, can you figure out who the real me is?"

Frustrated Entoma clicked with her mandibles and jumped from one doll to the other, crushing every single one. Once she got to the last one, she stabbed it with her Sword Bug, but was yet again met with disappointment. Then, suddenly, Evileye became visible again right next to the last doll and used her most suitable spell.

"Vermin Ba…"

The magic circle that had formed around her hand was suddenly dispelled and her magic had failed. She tried to understand what was going on and was hit by Entomas´ legs who easily swept her away like a small leaf. When she landed, she felt pain in her whole body, but not all of that pain came from the hard landing. She looked at her right hand and saw a knife sticking in it. She looked in the direction the knife came from and her eyes met Geralts´.

"In case you didn´t notice…"

She could hear him talking, but couldn´t afford to be distracted right now. Lakyus ran to her and said.

"Evileye, are you alright? What happened?"

"The Witcher interrupted my spell. What are Gagaran and the others doing?"

Lakyus looked frightened.

"Your hand. That´s one of Tias´ daggers."

Evileye clenched her teeth and pulled the dagger out of her palm.

"Yes, I know. He must have taken it from her and then used it on me."

"That´s not what I mean. If it is one of hers, she must have poisoned it."

Evileye said nonchalantly.

"Yes, that sounds like something she would do."

"Then let me use healing magic on you."

"No need for that. I can take care of it myself."

"But I thought you couldn´t use healing spells?"

Behind her mask, Evileye had a very troubled expression. How was she supposed to explain that she had no need for antidote or healing spells? After all those years, she could hardly say `Oh, by the way, I´m an undead, just like the guy that just conquered our homeland and killed probably more than a million people, so I have poison resistance. And please don´t use healing magic on me, as it would hurt me.´

"Don´t worry about that. I have my own ways to deal with that. Pay more attention to our enemy."

Lakyus was bewildered by her friends´ harsh response, but was too occupied fighting off Entoma to really care about it. Evileye flew towards Entoma and unleashed one of her bigger attack spells.

"Crystal Lance."

But despite her best efforts, Entoma was easily able to evade her attacks. Without somebody to draw her attention, Evileye couldn´t hit her with her best spell. It´s not like Lakyus was lacking as a partner, quite the contrary. She was the best partner she can hope for, but Lakyus was unable to draw Entomas´ attention. She was totally focused on Evileye and only dealt with Lakyus if really necessary. She didn´t leave her enough time to prepare adequate countermeasures and always pressed into close-combat. But for whatever reason she hadn´t used her most horrendous ability. Her fly Breath. This ability would unleash a swarm of carnivorous flying insects, devouring every bit of flesh in its´ path. It would be able do deal huge damage to her and Lakyus, but she made no attempts. She might still be wary of her Vermine Bane spell, but maybe she didn´t use it for a different reason. From what Evileye knew, that particular spell dealt a vast amount of damage to every living creature around her, so was she considerate of the adventurers around them? Evileye didn´t know, but she didn´t have the time to think about trivial things like that. Just as Lakyus was again engaging in close-combat with her, Evileye noticed something horrible. Her back was touching the wall of the fortress. She had been forced backwards so many times she ran out of places to run to. She looked upwards and saw the faces of several adventurers standing on the wall, looking down on her. She had heard the Witcher giving orders to only interfere if they tried to escape. So even if Evileye were to abandon her friends and use her Fly magic to run, she would be shot down by arrows and magic. Not that she was thinking of leaving her friends behind. Together they had lived through so many hardships, it was no exaggeration to call them her family. Therefore she had to make a hard decision. If she used her most powerful ability, she might be able to change the tides of the battle. It was her final trump-card. She was sure it would make short work of the demon maid, although she wasn´t sure it was enough to deal with the Witcher, too. But she was hesitant. Once she unleashed her full power, there was no way in hell she would still be mistaken as a human being. Suddenly she remembered the words the Witcher spoke to her in the capital. Was she afraid of her friends´ reaction? Did she not trust them enough to reveal who she really was? She was already well aware that she might have no other choice. Every attempt they had made so far to deal with the enemies before and behind them was futile. Despite knowing that, she still hesitated and desperately looked for a way out.

"We are running out of options."

Said Lakyus.

"What do you mean?"

"I don´t think we can win. No matter how hard we fight, we are getting nowhere."

"You sound like you are about to give up."

Lakyus shook her head.

"Not at all. But it´s becoming more and more clear what I have to do."

Evileye looked at her in confusion.

"Wait for my signal, then you will take the others and run."

"What? Do you really think we would leave you behind?"

"We have no other choice. If we all run, we will be taken out from behind. At least one of us has to stay to buy some time for the others."

"Then let me..."

Lakyus put her hand on her friends´ shoulder.

"No. I´m the leader of this team, so it is my responsibility. You have to make sure you all escape."

"But I´m the strongest, I have the highest chance to survive."

"That´s exactly the reason why you have to go. There is nobody I can trust more to keep the team save."

Evileye wanted to protest, but after seeing the determination in Lakyus´ eyes, her resistance crumbled. She dropped her shoulders and said.

"Yes. I will make sure we can escape."

Lakyus smiled and said.

"Don´t look so down. I have no intention of loosing. I still have a trick left. Now go."

Lakyus charged at Entoma and kept her down long enough for Evileye to reach her friends.

"I guess I have no other choice left. For all those years I have tried to keep this darkness in check, but now I will submit my body and soul to you."

Then a huge wave of darkness emanated from her sword.


	14. Chapter 4 Wolven Storm Part 3

Geralt was startled as Evileye suddenly appeared behind her friends and was wary of a combined attack, but instead of those four, his attention was drawn to a huge pillar of darkness that rose from the last member of the team, Lakyus. It seemed to originate from her sword she was holding in two hands before her chest, like in some kind of bizarre prayer. The darkness was at first shot strait up, but then began to wiggle around and engulfed Lakyus like tentacles. It seemed to closely crawl around her body and hardened, forming a grotesque armor. Her arms, legs, part of her chest and her head were now covered with it. Her face was only partially visible, mainly the right half of it. The other half looked like that of a humanoid dragon, formed of pitch-black obsidian, except for the eyeball that glowed in an ominous deep red. Her arms and legs were covered in hard-looking, scale-like structures and ended hands and feet with sharp claws. But on the other hand, her sword was nowhere to be seen. Geralt thought that it might have dissolved in this darkness and had transformed into armor. In pain Gagaran, supported by Evileye, looked at her friend and said.

"What´s going on? What happened to Lakyus?"

Evileye gave her the answer.

"She said we should wait for her signal, I guess that´s it."

The armored Lakyus pointed her hand at the gate.

"Dark Energy Mega Impact"

The gate was forcefully broken open and was now no longer blocking the path. She yelled at her friends.

"Run."

Evileye said.

"Now. That is our only chance. Lakyus will buy us enough time."

Gagaran said. "What? We could never abandon a friend. What you are suggesting is…"

She was interrupted by the small mage slapping her. Evileye then cried.

"Don´t you think I know? She decided that it was the only way. Look at you. You can barely stand. If we stay, we will all be killed or captured. She ordered us to escape. As long as we stay alive we can do something. Now get moving."

Fortunately for them, everyone was too occupied the fascinating transformation, so nobody was really paying them any attention. As fast as they could they ran towards the gate. Tia and Tina supporting each other and Evileye helping Gagaran. But the moment they reached the gate, they were interrupted by Entoma. Just as she was about to slash them a scaled, black hand grabbed her head and threw her against the wall. Lakyus was already in a follow-up attack and thrusted her claws at Entoma, but was interrupted by something. Her claws were stopped by the sword Geralt was holding. He pushed his word hard forward and pushed Lakyus back. The Witcher then said to Entoma.

"Leave her to me. Follow the others and make sure they don´t escape."

"Why are you ordering me around?"

"Then you want to fight her and let me lead the pursuit? You asked me to let Evileye to you."

"Fine. But don´t make it a habit."

He then said to his students.

"You too. Make sure they don´t escape."

All of the adventurers immediately followed the Blue Roses. Because Lakyus was able to temporarily hold Entoma and Geralt, back, Evileye and the others managed to reach the edge of the town without trouble, but they could hear the adventurers and Entoma were already closing in on them. Tia asked.

"Can you use teleport now?"

"No. I have just tried and it failed. I mustn´t use my magic carelessly. My mana is getting low. I can only try teleportation once more and use one other spell. That´s it. If we don´t get out of reach of the disturbance before we are cornered, we are done."

She then turned around and used that one spell.

"Widen Magic Sand Field: All"

All of the adventurers as well as Entoma were engulfed. The adventurers were paralyzed, while Entoma was slowed down significantly.

"Now it´s only one teleportation left. I slowed them down but it won´t last forever."

Struggling to keep running, Gagaran was getting weaker by the minute. At first Evileye wasn´t aware that the friend leaning on her shoulder got heavier, but then she felt something wet on her back. Trough the deep cut on her chest Geralt caused with his last attack she lost a lot of blood.

"I thought you took care of that, what happened to your amulet?"

"We had to use all its´ charges up. The Witcher almost ripped us apart."

Not being able to afford to stop for treatment, her friends tried to drag her forward.

"Don´t you have any potions or bandages left?"

Tina responded.

"Nothing."

Gagaran put on a bitter smile.

"Guess I won´t make it this time. Just leave me here and run."

Evileye, pulling her forward said.

"No way. I promised I would get you away and I intend to keep my promise. If you still have enough energy left to spat nonsense, why not instead use it for running?"

Struggling with all her strength, Entoma managed to reach the end of the magic field and was freed from its´ effect. Able to move again, she stormed at top-speed. She promised herself that she would hunt that pesky mosquito down, no matter what. Fortunately a bright red trail of blood made it easy for her to follow them, but her luck ended when she saw the trail leading in the forest. It was far too dense to maneuver it with her long legs, so she had to retract them and continue the pursuit on two legs. Despite that little handicap she was still reducing the distance between her and the prey very fast. Only one minute later she could already see them. She pulled out a couple of her talismans.

"Exploding Swarm Talisman."

Tia and Tina turned around and used the last of their strength and activated their skills simultaneously.

"Immovable Adamantite Shield"

A small smokescreen was caused by the collision of the talismans with the shield and gave them a little cover, but not for long. Entoma reached them in no time and the distance between them got smaller and smaller.

"Cutting Wind Talisman."

Entoma unleashed a slashing wind, but targeted not at them, but on the place in front of them. The trees she cut down blocked their path, closing of any chance of further escape. Entoma was now close enough to attack and immediately slashed Evileye, but with her last strength Gagaran managed to shove her far enough away so she only got scratched at her back. A little bit of blood covered the tip of the blade bug that seemed to happily chirp. From the corner of her eye Evileye noticed some of the other pursuers approaching and realized that her spell must have ended already. Entoma then took a swing and thrusted her blade at Evileye, but just as she could feel it connect with her body, Evileye and her friends vanished.

"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah"

Entoma released an angry scream of frustration. The adventurers could see and more important hear her and slowly walked backwards.

In a rocky plain with some huge boulders far outside of the Witcher territory Rigrit sat on a campfire. She had been waiting for a message from her friends for almost a week now and was slightly concerned about the lack of contact. She had been wondering whether she should go after them and risk blowing their cover or she rather should wait. She had decided to do the latter, but she had a very bad feeling about it. When she suddenly could feel a shift in the magic energy around her, she knew that bad feeling was justified. An incoming teleportation could only mean her friends had to escape from a dire situation. The next instant Evileye, Gagaran, Tia and Tina appeared in front of her, all of them in a bad shape. She had no need to ask them what happened, it was very obvious. Bruises, cuts and blood all over them made it clear they had to fight for their life. Without further ado she started treating her friends. Gagaran was first, as she was in an especially bad shape. She had lost a lot of blood and a deep cut run strait across her chest. Rigrit knew that her armor was made of adamantite, so she could imagine the strength necessary to inflict that deep of a wound. Next were Tia and Tina. Their injuries weren´t as bad, but a normal person would probably already have perished. She thought that she had stocked up a considerable amount of healing potions, but soon she found herself to be running low on them. After she was done treating them, they slept soundly, exhausted from the deadly battle. Only Evileye was left awake, sitting at the campfire across from Rigrit. The sun was already quickly disappearing behind the horizon. Rigrit was the first to speak.

"You look like your day was pretty rough. Do you also need treatment?"

"You know that I don´t need it."

"Yes, but when they wake up and see your torn clothes, they will assume you were also badly injured. So we should agree on a story."

Evileye was indeed badly injured but that was nothing her vampire body couldn´t handle. The pierced hand, the slash across her back or the stab in her chest were nothing to be concerned about, at least not for her.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Rigrit was well aware that Lakyus was missing, so she could guess what happened. She was asking for Evileyes´ sake. She was honestly surprised when Evileye told her everything. How they entered the fortress and the insect-maid they encountered in the capital appeared, how the Witcher kept her from attacking them and how the next day changed everything. The Witcher had found Tia trying to sneak into the vault and caught her, ordering her team-mates to surrender and how they were forced to fight.

"And Lakyus?"

Evileye shook her head.

"She unleashed the full power of her demonic sword to buy us enough time. I wanted to be the one to stay behind, but she forced me to take the others with me."

Trying to cheer her up, Rigrit said.

"Don´t worry too much. Lakyus is more than capable and with her full power, even the Witcher will have a hard time."

Before her friend could sink further into despair, Rigrit said.

"I don´t think Lakyus´ life is in danger. Now that they know that you have escaped, they will probably capture her alive. A dead hostage is worthless."

"That´s not helping me feel better about her."

Rigrit grabbed Evileye by her shoulders and looked her deep in the eyes.

"Listen. Lakyus knew what she was up to and it was her decision to protect you. Don´t devalue her sacrifice. As long as you are alive, you can make things right."

"I wouldn´t be so sure of that. I don´t know how, but he was a lot stronger than two months ago. I have absolutely no idea how that´s possible."

"Really? You of all people can´t imagine how an individual can change suddenly and gain incredible abilities?"

"You mean a race-change? But he looked the same."

"He was a mutant to begin with, so we can´t even begin to imagine how a further mutation would affect his body."

"I can only say that it paid off. The last time Gagaran was at least able to keep up with him, but this time he totally destroyed them without any effort. We stood absolutely no chance, especially with the maid helping him."

"Hmmm."

Rigrit was deep in thought.

"What are you thinking?"

"I was thinking that it was quite the coincidence that of all the servants the Sorcerer King has, he sends her of all people at the perfect moment to meet you and the others."

"You mean that it was a trap?"

"We can´t rule it out."

"That´s impossible. That would mean he knew you would approach us and when we would go there."

Rigrit nodded.

"He most likely knows what we are after. Then the reason he hasn´t looted that place yet is because he wanted to lure out any possible competitor. He is wary of everyone who might be able to draw out its´ hidden power."

"About that, isn´t it time you tell me what this trouble is about? What exactly are you looking for?"

"Fine. I will tell you once the others wake up. I think you deserve to know."

"Good. If you will excuse me, I have something to take care of."

Evileye slowly distanced herself from the camp and went behind one of the boulders fairly far away from the others. She began slamming her fist at the boulder, again and again.

"Coward, Coward, Coward, Coward, Coward."

She was getting louder, almost to the point of screaming and only stopped when a clear liquid dropped out from underneath her mask.

Once the fortress was cleared, only Geralt and Lakyus were left standing there, silently staring at each other. Silent only, until Lakyus began laughing maniacally. Her voice was deeper than before.

"_**Muahahahaha. Finally this weak little priestess gave in to my temptation. Now her body and soul are mine. I guess I owe you my thanks. Hadn´t you pushed her and her friends into a corner that much, she would never have surrendered. Unfortunately I have to defeat you now, as part of our contract.**_"

Geralt, as calm and analytical as always responded.

"I have to admit, that really surprised me. I have never seen anything like that before. Looks like your sword has transformed into some kind of armor. That sword would make a good addition to the trophies."

"_**Insolent little mortal. Know that I am the demon Kilineiram**_."

The demonic creature leapt towards Geralt and tried to slash him with its´ claw, but Geralt evaded the blow and the big claw was plunged into the ground, causing cracks to appear in the pavement. Geralt, cautious of the new enemy, tried to hit the enemys´ arm with his blade, but the weird sensation made clear his attack was ineffective. When the blade connected with the demons´ arm, it felt like his attack was nullified. Not like the scaly structure was hard enough to block the attack, more like he was trying to strike clay or rubber-like substances and all the attacks´ energy was drained. He immediately backed off and tried to create some distance. The demon, immediately following him, tried another attack, but failed to keep up with Geralts´ speed. Next Geralt tried to overcome the weird resistance with one of his martial arts.

"Piercing Thrust"

Perfectly executed, the tip of Geralts´ sword found its´ targets´ shoulder, but again the attack was rendered useless. Frustrated Geralt clicked his tongue. This was a totally unfamiliar situation for him. There were situations he had to face opponents stronger than him, but was able to slowly take them down with continuous and precise attacks. But this situation was different. The demons´ strength was nothing to scoff at, but its´ speed was nowhere near enough to hit Geralt. On the other hand Geralts´ attacks were not able to overcome this weird defensive ability. Somehow he felt like even his own martial art, Wild Hunt, wouldn´t be able to deal damage. Unsure of how to deal with this weird situation, Geralt tried several other methods. When the demon was close enough, he took one of his bombs, dropped it in front of the creature and protected his ears. The loud explosion and the powerful shock-wave would render most enemies severely damaged and disoriented, but the demon seemed to be perfectly fine.

"_**Muahahaha. Nice try. It almost felt like a bug bite. If you don´t put in more effort, I will get bored**_."

Again the demon jumped at Geralt, but was yet again to slow to catch him.

"_**Hmmm. This is getting annoying. Would you please stop jumping around?**_"

Geralt scratched the back of his head. Then he asked.

"I have no idea why you are doing that, but could you please stop?"

"_**What do you mean?**_"

"I have seen my fair share of magical creatures and I know exactly how demonic possession looks like. You are definitely not possessed. So please stop pretending because it is really insulting."

"I have… ahem._** I have no idea what you mean**_."

"Listen, I don´t know if you think I´m stupid or if you are simply stuck in a pubescent phase but drop the act."

"_**Huh, poor mortal can´t see the truth. I am the great demon Kilineiram that has been sealed inside the sword and have now taken over that little priestess as my vessel**_."

"Fine. You want to be a childish jerk? Be my guest."

Anger rose to his head but he had to forcefully keep his cool. This woman wasn´t able to hurt him, but in return Geralt seemed also unable to deal damage and he was slowly running out of options. The only thing left he hadn´t tried yet was his magic, but it was always only a secondary weapon for him. From his five spells, only two were offensive. Geralt wasn´t sure Aard would be able to take her out, since she became stronger after her transformation and she would be able to mostly withstand the shock-wave. Igni on the other hand consumed a lot of stamina and as he learned in his fight with the Viper squad, if he is unable to finish the enemy with it, he would be severely weakened and vulnerable after using it with full power. Then he had an idea, but it was a huge gamble. He rushed towards her and used his Martial Art once again.

"Piercing Thrust"

"_**Yes. Give in to the despair. Feel the fruitlessness of your efforts. Your attacks will never be able to penetrate me**_."

She opened her arms like preparing to hug an old friend and let Geralt attack her and just as Lakyus said, the tip of his blade was again stopped at her right shoulder. But Geralt expected that and grinned. Then he placed the palm of his right hand on the bottom of the sword handle.

"Aard."

The blade shone in an even brighter blue than ever before and was pushed right through her shoulder, sticking out of the other side. An extremely loud scream escaped Lakyus mouth.

"Just as I expected. Your resistance to physical attacks was greatly improved, but your defense against magic dropped. I didn´t know if my blade combined with wild magic would be effective, but looks like my hunch was correct."

Lakyus, whose right arm was dangling down on her side tried to shake Geralt of and was too late in noticing his next attack.

"Igni"

The sword sticking out of Lakyus´ back glowed red and she was immediately engulfed in flames, wailing and screaming miserably. Geralt pulled his sword back and saw it covered in steaming blood. After the flames died down, Geralt could hear something metallic drop to the ground. It seemed that after taking enough damage, the sword was no longer able to uphold the transformation and changed back to its´ original form. Left was a defeated Lakyus, covered in blood and burn marks. Despite the horrible state she was in, Geralt could hear her breathing. It looked like the sword took the bulk of the damage and saved her life. Lakyus, who had given her all in this fight lay on the ground, her whole body hurting and screaming for rest. But she knew that she had to keep going. Every second she prevented the Geralt from joining the hunt on her friends raised their chance of escape. Under groaning she managed to roll on her stomach and started crawling towards her sword. It fell down only a handful of steps away, but in her current condition it felt like miles. Every time she plunged her left hand into the ground and pulled herself forward, pain ran through her body. Her right arm was only being dragged along as she was unable to move it at all. The right half of her face that wasn´t covered by the black scaly armor her sword had turned into was slightly burned and she couldn´t open her eye. She got close enough to reach her sword with her stretched out left hand, but for some reason it wouldn´t move at all. She turned her head to the right and saw Geralts´ foot, standing on the body of the sword. She looked upwards and looked into the eyes of Geralt. She saw the usual yellow eyes with slit, cat-like pupils. But this time she could see something else. Cold, indifferent contempt. The last thing she saw before the world turned black was him raising his sword.

Hello everyone. Since I won´t be at home the coming weekend I decided to release it earlier than planned.

I am currently planning out the end of the story I am about to write and I couldn´t decide how it should end. Therefore I thought "Hey, you should ask the readers." Therefore I have created a poll to see whou you want to see as the big end boss. The poll will be open till July 12th, when I release the next chapter. You can find the poll by clicking on my profile page, it should be in the top right corner.

PS: Last chance to guess what the Dragon Lords big secret is, I will reveal it next chapter.


	15. Epilogue

After drifting in an eternal dark abyss for what felt like eons, Lakyus consciousness began to return. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in a room that was only slightly less dark, just enough for her to be able to see silhouettes. She was in a plain room, only a makeshift bed made of straw and a wooden bucket for purposes she didn´t want to think about right now were around her. It was obvious what this place was. A prison cell. Lakyus recollected the events that led to her current condition. She fought Geralt and must have lost the fight, resulting in her imprisonment. As she tried to stand up, a sharp pain ran through her right shoulder. The spot Geraltsｴ swords had pierced her was covered in bandages. It seems like her hosts didnｴt want her to die from her injuries, but didnｴt want to heal them with magic in case she tried to resist. This was most likely the compromise. It would probably be impossible for her to use her right arm in battle, but slight movements should be fine for now. She struggled to stand up, hearing a metallic clatter behind her. After turning around she saw the source of that noise. A heavy chain, connected the wall and, as she noticed for the first time, a collar around her neck. Shocked she immediately reached for the back of her neck to find a lock or something similar. Her surprise was huge as she was easily able to open it and fell to the floor. But the relief only lasted for a handful of seconds, as she now could feel intense cold invading her body. It took only a couple of moments for her to lose the feeling in her fingers and for her lips to turn blue. She put her arms around her chest to maintain at least a little bit of her body warm. Then she also noticed that she wasnｴt wearing her armor or the clothes she wore underneath it. Her body was enveloped by plain rags, something a homeless person would wear. With shaking hands she grabbed the collar from the floor and put it back around her neck. In the same moment she heard the lock of the collar closing, she could feel the warmth returning to her body and the pain to subside.

What a wicked way to torment me. Forcing me to put on my own shackles.

She sank back down on her bed, waiting for her captures to show themselves. Despite her dire situation, she didnｴt even think of despairing. She firmly believed that her efforts were enough to help her friends escape. What other reason could there be to let her live? If her friends are save, it would be worth enduring whatever agony was awaiting her. But despite every horror she had depicted in her mind what happened was...nothing. She was left in that cell for a very long time. Lakyus had no way of measuring the time except for her own perception, but she was nowhere as proficient as the twins. From her own feeling around twelve hours must have passed since she woke up. She used the time examining her cell. Apart from the interior, the walls were much more interesting. She couldn´t see it in the dark and only noticed it after slowly palpating it. The ground, ceiling and walls were all completely made of ice. That also explained the intense cold whenever she took of the collar. She also found a rectangular fissure in one of the walls, probably a door. Her guess was correct as soon after the huge block of ice was pushed aside. Bright daylight filled her cell and forced Lakyus to raise her arms to protect her eyes from the light. Then she saw somebody standing in the door. It was a woman, but Lakyus didn´t even think for a second she was an ally, as she obviously was not human. Long, black hair like a moonless night, a well-featured face with bluish white skin and deep, blue eyes. Not only the iris, everything was blue as if somebody had picked up sapphires and put them in the empty eye-sockets of a doll. Her snow-white dressed looked expensive enough to trouble even wealthy nobles. With an icy voice fitting her appearance she said.

"Eat."

She dropped a loaf of bread and some apples, as well as a water-bag.

"I don´t know what you are planning to do, but you will not win."

Bored of her, the mysterious woman disappeared and the heavy ice block effortlessly slid back in its´ original place, filling the room with darkness once again. This act repeated itself several times. Lakyus estimated that the woman came roughly twice a day, always dropping some food and water. She never said anything besides `Eat`. Reluctant at first, Lakyus tried to avoid the food that was given to her by the warden, but in the end hunger won. She put the remains of the apples in one line, to count the days she was here. Today was the seventh day of her imprisonment and the block of ice opened once again. But despite the usual woman, somebody else entered the room. Lakyus´ eyes widened in surprise.

"Momon?"

She tried to go to him, but was stopped by the chain.

"Hello. I´m sorry I couldn´t make it earlier. As soon as I heard what happened, I tried to reach you, but I had to ask for a lot of favors to see you."

"You shouldn´t have done that. I guess those people are not the kind of guys you would like to owe favors to."

"It´s fine. The boss of this place is not such a bad guy at all. Hey."

He turned to the woman behind him.

"Do what you promised."

"Hmpf."

The woman waved her hand and the chain attached to Lakyus slipped out of the ice-wall.

"Lord Ainz allowed you to take her for a walk, but make sure to bring her back."

He picked up the chain and said.

"Yes."

Afterwards the woman left. They both stepped out of the cell, Lakyus a couple of steps behind Momon. The outside was even more hostile than the inside of her cell. As far as her eyes could reach she saw nothing but snow and ice. Despite the wind blowing in her face, she didnｴt feel cold at all. She touched the collar almost grateful for its´ protecting effect.

"I´m sorry, this has to be very humiliating, but it was part of the deal."

"I understand. I´m very grateful you came to visit me. Seeing a familiar face is a nice change of paste."

"I assume you have a lot of questions and I will try to answer them as good as possible, but there are certain things I´m not allowed to talk about. I hope you can understand."

"Yes, of course. Can you tell me what happened to my friends?"

"Somehow I knew you would ask this. Rest assured, they managed to escape to safety."

Lakyus sighed relieved.

"Thank god. Then it was worth it."

"It seems like they used teleport to get away in the last second. You were fighting Geralt with a transformation caused by your sword, right? Where did you get it?"

"It´s a family heirloom and has been in the possession of my family for generations. But what happened after I lost consciousness?"

"Geralt brought you here after he defeated you. He was furious."

"He was?"

"Well, he pretended to be as calm as always, but you could see him burning with anger."

"I guess I should apologize to him."

"Huh?"

"I know it sounds weird after what I have done, but it wasn´t my intention to misuse his trust and generosity. I feel guilty for treating him like that."

"I´m sure he would appreciate that. From what I have heard whenever someone tried to break into his home in the past, a member of his family died. Your actions have triggered some bad memories and emotions."

"I see."

"By the way, what were you even doing there in the first place?"

"I´m sorry, but I can´t tell you."

"It seems like you were looking for something. I don´t think you were after the money. If it had been that, you could have found other places with lower risk."

He carefully looked over his shoulders and then whispered.

"He has turned that place upside down but there was nothing worth that big of a risk. If there is something the Sorcerer King mustn´t find, tell me."

Lakyus, equally careful, responded.

"I know for certain that the Dragon Lords hid something a couple hundred years ago and somehow the Witchers of that time stumbled upon it. We were hoping to find a map or some clues as to where to find it."

"But why?"

Momon sounded almost desperately curious, but Lakyus thought she just imagined it.

"It seems to be a source of great power and might be useful in defeating the Sorcerer King."

"What makes you think the Sorcerer King hasn´t already found it?"

"Because I know it is still save."

"Thank you for telling me. I appreciate your trust. I will do my best to keep you informed of the situation. Now ask me some more questions, so we don´t look suspicious. There are some of these creatures coming closer."

Lakyus couldn´t sense anything, but decided to trust Momons´ instincts.

"Where even is this place? From the weather and the surroundings it must be somewhere far north. Is this the place the Sorcerer King originally comes from?"

"Well, it´s not like you are entirely false, but you aren´t entirely right either."

"What do you mean?"

"Hmmm. It´s really difficult to explain. First of all, all of what you can see right now is not really outside."

Lakyus looked at him in disbelief.

"Look, I´m not even pretending I totally understand it, but from what I know this place seems to be one of the underground levels of the Sorcerer Kings´ lair."

"This place is underground? But there is daylight and weather, how is that even possible?"

"Imagine this place like a multi-stored house. Every level had a different environment and is occupied by a multitude of different creatures. In addition, every level is bigger than a large city. My best guess is that each level is around one and a half times the size of the capital."

Lakyus seemed to calculate.

"That would mean his lair is the size if a small nation. Is every level like this?"

"No. Every level is different. The Sorcerer King resides on the lowest level and many levels are protected by one or more of his closest aides. They are called guardians."

"How many of them are there?"

Momon remained silent for a while. Lakyus assumed he was thinking of how much information he could share with her.

"Four."

He almost whispered. Lakyus was glad Momon was trusting her to that extend. From their conversation she was sure he was preparing some kind of resistance against the Sorcerer King. He was carefully gathering information of the Sorcerer Kings´ hideout and his strongest warriors.

"Is there any way out of here?"

I´m afraid that will be impossible for now.

Was she imagining things or did he made a little pause before for now? He was probably telling her to wait for the right moment.

"There are hordes of enemies everywhere and facing them without proper equipment and preparation is insane."

Now she could see the mysterious woman approach them.

"Your time is up."

Reluctantly Momon handed the chain back to her.

"I will try to come again."

Lakyus bowed.

"Thank you very much. I´m grateful for your consideration, but I don´t want to be a burden to you."

In the throne room of the ninth floor of Nazarick two people were watching over a multitude of monitors, one of them depicting the frosty glacier of the fifth floor. The people watching, Albedo and Demiurge, were eagerly discussing things. Demiurge said.

"So that was the reason our lord wished to speak to the prisoner himself. Who would have guessed he was already expecting things to develop that way."

"We can never hope to fully grasp the abysmal intellect of our master and creator."

"With the knowledge we gained from that orc we can now safely assume that there are other people looking for that secret. Lord Ainz must have foreseen that development when he first visited the fortress and has been carefully preparing traps for his enemies."

"Now that we know of a possible danger, we must deal with it as quickly as possible. If the information we got about it is true, it might become a threat in enemy hands."

"The meeting with the dragon is scheduled for later today. We should be wary of him."

The next moment Ainz teleported into the room, right on top of the throne. Albedo and Demiurge immediately got on their knees. Ainz then motioned for them to rise. He stared at them in silence for a couple of seconds before saying.

"Demiurge."

"Yes, Lord Ainz?"

"Please fetch Geralt and bring him here. I want to ask him some questions."

"At once, milord."

Geralt, who was waiting in one of the rooms nearby, arrived only moments later, also immediately dropping to his knee. Geralt could feel three pairs of eyes on him, growing more and more nervous as the silence continued. Ainz broke the silence by saying.

"I made you come because I wanted to ask you some questions."

"I will answer to my best knowledge."

"First let me ask: When the Blue Roses came to you and asked to stay, why did you allow them in?"

"I am truly sorry if I have evoked displeasure. It will never happen again."

"I don´t think that is an answer to my question."

Geralt could feel the bloodlust, not from Ainz but the two demons behind him.

"Please, speak your mind freely."

"I thought I could convince them to recognize your majestys´ greatness and join your ranks. I know it was a silly decision on my part and I will do my best to make up for my blunder."

Ainz seemed to contemplate for a couple of seconds. And mumbled something along the lines.

"That is the difference."

Then he said.

"Well, I guess it´s nothing to be concerned about. You were acting in the best interest of the Sorcerer Kingdom, right?"

"Absolutely."

"And since you prevented the enemy from getting his hands on what he was looking for and even brought us the leader of the invaders. I think there is nothing to be angry about."

Geralt realized the hostility originating from behind him subsided. Relieved, he let out a deep sigh.

"But there is one thing I´m still curious about. What were they looking for?"

"I am terribly sorry, but I have not the faintest clue. I swear."

Ainz seemed hesitant at first but made no attempts of further inquiry.

"Then it´s settled. Any objections?"

He looked at Albedo and Demiurge. None of them seemed to have any objections, but it was Geralt who spoke up.

"With all due respect, I think I deserve at least some kind of punishment. I have acted on my own accord and let my emotions get the better of me. It´s clear I´m lacking discipline."

"If that´s how you feel, I will think about it."

"Milord."

Demiurge said.

"May I suggest a compromise?"

Ainz seemed to nod in affirmation.

"Lately there has been a large influx of orphans in our facilities. I think it would be fruitfully to let them train and learn at the fortress."

"An excellent idea, as expected of you, Demiurge. Geralt, you will take a couple of children and train them. Maybe we can raise capable adventurers from scratch. Anything else?"

"As you are speaking of raising, it seems like my last attempts to breed and raise superior abellion sheep was a failure and I am now lacking in flock."

"Can you acquire them from the holy kingdom, like last time?"

"I´m afraid that won´t be possible. After our last hunt the herds have been thinned severely. Any more might cause the population to collapse. But I know of another large herd in the east, in the Dragonic Kingdom."

"Then you have my permission to do whatever is necessary to secure them. The scrolls their skins are the basis for are an essential necessity for Nazarick. Now that that is taken care of, I think we should head to the meeting with the Dragon Lord. I´m curious of his proposal."

Ainz left the Room via teleportation and Demiurge ordered Geralt to wait outside. Left alone, Albedo asked her fellow guardian.

"I know what your goal is with the ´sheep´, but what are you hoping to achieve by sending the young worms to the fortress?"

"I guess you heard what our lord said, right?"

"That´s the difference. What about it?"

"You see, despite all his flaws and his inferiority, the Witcher became a loyal little pet. On the other hand we have thousands of rats we have forced into submission, but are eagerly looking for ways to escape. The difference is, that obedience can be forced, loyalty not. Therefore, if some of the children were to see the life our lord can offer them and desire to become his servants, there would be nothing wrong about it."

"You are hoping they desire to become Witchers themselves, abandoning being human. A lot of them would probably die during that process."

Despite saying these truly concerned words, she wore a happy smile upon the thought of many humans dying.

"If we have to exterminate a hundred obedient rats to gain one loyal dog, don´t you think it would be worth it?"

Arriving in his chamber, Ainz collapsed onto his bed. Mentally exhausted and wishing for rest, he went over the events of the last couple of days. First the Blue Roses broke into the vault of the Witcher Fortress and fought against Geralt. Not that there was anything interesting to begin with. After he gained access, Ainz had this place turned upside down to find any hidden secret. The result? Nothing. Lakyus was caught in the progress. Then he managed to convince Albedo and Demiurge that he himself should interrogate her, even if this was just an excuse to ditch his office work to someone else. Then, when she was brought here, he learned that the Dragon Lords were preparing an attack on the Sorcerer Kingdom and one of them was willing to negotiate with him in secret. It seems like the problems kept piling up. When talking to Geralt, he could feel that he was very depressed. Getting tricked by them must have damaged his pride. But he report was pretty interesting. His fight with the Blue Roses was apparently pretty intense and he also could use his wild magic to protect others from Tier magic. During the conversation he kept thinking about the differences between those two. Absentminded, he pulled Lakyusｴsword out of his inventory.

(So this is the legendary demonic sword I have heard so much about. It´s rather disappointing.)

After closely inspecting it, Ainz could evaluate the swords´ abilities. This black blade was a mid-tier item from Ygdrasil and not a particularly powerful one. It was mostly used by players around level 50-60. It could temporarily grant its´ user the mid-tier physical nullification skill. However, that came at a cost. The users´ mana was cut in half and while equipped, the user would lose all damage bonus a weapon usually provided and for the duration of the skill equipping another weapon was impossible, as it still occupied a weapon slot. It gave a slight boost in strength, but overall this was more of a joke-weapon players would use for role-playing. Ainz remembered one of his old friends using a similar weapon once, pretending to be possessed by a demon. The memory of that event caused Ainz to feel so ashamed he slapped the palm of his hand against his forehead and rolled around in his bed. It got to the point his emotion suppression kicked in and calmed him down.

Ainz got up from his bed, straightened his robe and prepared to depart. They agreed to use a transmission spell to talk to the Emerald Dragon Lord, but that didn´t mean he would do so inside of Nazarick. Ainz still couldn´t fully grasp the strength of wild magic, so he was still wary the spell could also do something else, like teleporting someone inside. The possibility wasn´t zero, so he decided to put the fake Nazarick that was built during the Lizardman invasion to good use. The emissary was already there and Geralt should also arrive now. For some reason the Dragon Lord was adamant that he should attend. After yet another swift teleport Ainz found himself in the fake throne room. Geralt kneeling a couple of feet away, as well as the orc, also kneeling. After telling them to stand up, the orc said.

"I´m very grateful you managed to find time. If you allow it, I will start the procedure."

He placed a small green jewel on the ground. Interested, Ainz asked.

"Are you performing the magic?"

"No lowly being as myself could ever hope to wield the magic of the dragon lords. This is a magic gem made by my lord, specified to show the location of the projection."

Then the gem started to shine and the light formed a triangular wall, depicting the image of a dragon. This dragon had emerald green scales, a large, snake-like body, but his four short, stumpy legs looked more like those of a salamander. If not for the wings on his back, Ainz would have thought he looked like an eastern dragon. He looked like a weird mixture of dragon, snake and salamander. Ainz was fascinated by the foreign magic he saw for the first time. He carefully glanced around and saw the orc-messenger similarly bewildered, obviously witnessing it for the first time as well. Geralt on the other hand looked totally composed and unimpressed. Ainz made a mental note to remember that. His ability to overcome the physical damage nullification was impressive alone, but his adaptability to new phenomena was also noteworthy.

Of course Ainz couldn´t know what was really going on in Geralts´ mind. He wasn´t paying attention to the situation at all. He was too busy thinking about the mess that was going on in his home. The morning after the big fight with Lakyus, he noticed that Triss was gone. She must have left the night before, leaving only a small note behind, ordering him to take good care of Ziri and that she would return as soon as she was done. He noticed that the scholarship for the magical academy was also missing, so he could guess where she went, but he couldnｴt understand why she left so suddenly without saying goodbye. Only when the big shimmering image began to speak, Geralt noticed what was going on. He did his best to remain calm.

"It´s a pleasure to meet you, Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown. I´m glad my servant managed to deliver my message."

"I´m equally pleased, Emerald Dragon Lord Horaki Folter. If you don´t mind, I would like to cut the formalities as much as possible. Your servant has conveyed some disturbing news to me and I´m eager to know more."

"I guess that´s understandable. But before we continue, I have to make sure of one thing. Am I right to assume that the young man standing next to you is a Witcher?"

"Yes. That is correct."

"Good. As you are probably aware, your alliance with the Witcher guild has caused some commotion among our ranks and now some of us are thinking of dealing with the cause of that commotion, you, with violent matters."

Ainz placed his hand on his chin and was almost freaking out, mumbling some inaudible words.

(What´s going on? I have done nothing to upset the dragons. I always made sure not to cause unnecessary trouble. Well, since I have no idea what this is about, time to ask him directly.)

The only words Horaki was able to understand were about time. Was the Sorcerer King secretly waiting for them to act hostile to have a reason to destroy them? Did he maybe already plundered that place and was eagerly awaiting their reaction? He had waited for the perfect opportunity to make contact with the Witchers. For him, the death of the previous head and the sole surviving member being an inexperienced and naive young one must have been like present being delivered at his home. He had patiently baited the Dragon Lords and prepared all kinds of counter-measures. Just how much did he know about them? Was he aware of their individual strength and abilities? Yet he seemed confident he could easily take them on. As much as Horaki hated to admit it, he had to agree with Tsa in one thing. The being he saw through his projection was much more terrifying than the eight kings of greed. Feeling confirmed in his initial believe, his resolve was even stronger. It was the right decision to reach out to him.

"I´m deeply sorry, but I am not aware of any action on my side attracting the wrath of the Dragon Lords."

He was feigning innocence. This being named Ainz Ooal Gown was extremely cunning and intelligent. Even now he was careful not to show his hand.

"It´s not what you did, but what you might do now that you are in possession of the secret knowledge of the Witchers."

Almost looking bored, at least Horaki interpreted his empty skull like that, the Sorcerer King turned around to speak to Geralt.

"Is there anything you have told me that warranted such a reaction?"

The Witcher frantically shook his head.

"If, perhaps, you could be a little clearer?"

Deeply looking into the hollow skull with the only thing inhabiting the eternal darkness being two little flames, Horaki felt like a cold hard hand was slowly tightening around his throat. He tried to swallow some saliva, but was unable to. It was clear with the malice this being was radiating that he was openly threatening and taunting him. One wrong move would be the end for his ambitious plans. He took a deep breath before continuing.

"Some of my brethren are afraid of what you are capable of and therefore wish to exterminate you."

"And you hold a different opinion?"

"I think there is more to gain from siding with you."

Still bewildered by the prospect of an invasion by the Argland Council State, he now had a pretty good grasp on the personality of the dragon before him. He was like a mid-level manager, loving to exert his authority over his subordinates but being frustrated of being inferior to others, always looking for a way to ascend the career ladder. Such a person would easily leave a company if a better offer was presented. This lack of loyalty was somewhat troubling since you never know when you are betrayed. That is only, if you arenｴt the one making the best offer. With this understanding of his new acquaintance, he asked the important questions.

"How would that alliance look like?"

"First of all, I´m not really that concerned with you finding that place. If you want it, you can have it. I don´t care. All I want is what I have deserved for a long time."

"I´m sure we can come to an agreement that´s mutually beneficial. What is it you desire?"

Horaki felt like he was about to sign a contract with the devil, but now that he has come this far, there was no way back.

"I want to take my rightful place as the ruler of the dragons. I want my brothers and sister to acknowledge my rule and if not, I want them gone."

"I think that can be done, but if you are currently not I a ruling position, what is there to gain for me?"

Frustrated he responded.

"I know I´m not among the strongest of my kin, but I´m confident I can control at least two other dragon lords. I can make them support my claim. So instead of seven, you would have to only face four of them. And I can lead you to the relics left behind by the eight kings of greed."

"The eight kings?"

"Yes. My brother is currently hording their relics and denies everyone else access. If I was in charge of guarding them, I would grant capable people access to them."

"I have to admit, that sounds intriguing. Your proposal sounds promising and I´m willing to consider it. But I have one last question. That place you keep bringing up..."

"As I said, I don´t care. For me it´s just a useless remnant of the past with no merit keeping it around. If you have use for it, I don´t mind you controlling it, the grave of the Dragon Emperor."


End file.
